2022 KCSE students to miss university funding as government mulls ending sponsorship
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Blow to 2022 KCSE students joining university this year as government mulls ending sponsorship for private universities
Blow to 2022 KCSE students joining university this year as government mulls ending sponsorship for private universities.
The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) program, which placed government-sponsored students to private universities, is about to come to an end.
This was proposed by the National Assembly Education Committee chaired by Julius Melly on Thursday, March 9.
The committee revealed that this was one of the measures the government would help debt-ridden public universities.
According to a previous report by the Public Investment Committee on Government, private universities began receiving Ksh8.7 million as a capitation for students who were supported by the government as of 2017.
It was also discovered that despite receiving such a sizable sum, private institutions have never had an audit conducted to ascertain how the money was spent.
This led the Education Committee to propose that KUCCPS places all government-sponsored students in public universities.
“Fee for a public university is approximately Ksh16,000 while private universities charge an average of Ksh100,000 per semester.
“We do not understand why the government would want to place students who are already poor in private universities,” the committee faulted the program that was started in 2017.
The committee also found that private institutions’ financial capitation was gradually rising each year, depriving public universities of much-needed money.
A total of Ksh1.56 billion was allocated to the program in the 2017–2018 fiscal year, while Ksh2.7 billion was allocated in the 2020–2021 fiscal year.
The committee’s chair, a Tinderet legislator, announced that the government would stop providing financial aid to private colleges as of 2022.
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“In the future, any engagement between private universities and the government will only be based on policy but there will be no admission of government-sponsored students in private universities.
“If you want to go to a private university, get your money and go there. We do not have a problem with that,” the Member of Parliament revealed on Saturday, March 11.
Melly though added that government would continue sponsoring students who were already in the program.
This came against the backdrop of 30,088 students who scored C+ in the 2022 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination poised to miss government funding.
University Fund Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Geoffrey Monari made the announcement on Saturday, February 25.
“Everyone who scored C+ and above will get university placement through KUCCPS but funding will be determined by merit, the level of need, national priorities, and affirmative action,” Monari stated back then.
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