President William Ruto has announced a major overhaul of Kenya’s higher education financing, declaring that all students admitted to universities, colleges and Kenya Medical Training Colleges will receive full government funding regardless of their financial background, beginning in September 2026.
Speaking at State House, Nairobi, on Tuesday, Ruto said the new model will take effect once Parliament approves proposed amendments to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) Act, replacing the current needs-based funding structure.
“Going forward, any student, so long as they have passed their examinations and they have been placed in a college or university, will get full funding for their higher education. It will be the choice for parents if they want to pay,” Ruto said.
The President said the reforms are meant to guarantee that no qualified student is locked out of higher education because of financial constraints, insisting that performance, not background, should determine access.
Ruto traced the decision to the shortcomings of previous funding models. He said the Differentiated Unit Cost model collapsed university financing instead of strengthening it, with promised funding levels of 80 percent falling to about 40 percent and leaving many institutions struggling.
A subsequent model blending parental contributions, scholarships and student loans also fell short of expectations, the President said, prompting the government to pursue a fully government-funded framework instead.
“We tried the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model. I think everyone knows it did not work because it caused funding to universities to decline,” he said.
Ruto cited cases where students who qualified for competitive courses such as medicine were forced to switch programmes because their families could not raise the required household contributions, a problem he said the new model seeks to eliminate.
He urged lawmakers to expedite the necessary legal amendments so the framework can roll out with the September intake, while noting that parents who wish to contribute financially would still be free to do so voluntarily.
The announcement marks a departure from the student-centred funding bands introduced in 2023, which had drawn criticism from students, universities and the courts over inconsistent means-testing. The proposal specifically addresses tuition costs, with details on financing for accommodation, meals and other upkeep expenses expected once Parliament debates the implementation framework.
Ruto said the shift draws on the experience of countries that have prioritised heavy investment in education to drive economic growth, adding that the government will consult widely before finalising the policy’s rollout.
