Features of New University Funding Model
A new funding scheme for universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions was recently introduced by the government.
Enhancing equality, fairness, and openness in the distribution of government loans and scholarships to students pursuing higher education is the goal of the student-centered and quality-driven strategy.
The main aspects of the new system for supporting universities are examined in this article along with its effects on students.
Addressing Uniform and Inequitable Capitation: Rich and poor students received equal funding under the prior Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) paradigm, leading to uniform and inequitable capitation.
The new funding structure aims to address this by allocating university money to specific students in accordance with their level of need.
This strategy makes sure that financial aid is dispersed more fairly.
Block financing will no longer be provided to universities and TVETs in favor of individualized funding. Instead, the government has decided to give money to students directly based on their financial need.
With this shift, students from all socioeconomic levels will have equitable access to higher education and technical training.
Funding Categories: Based on the severity of the demand, the new funding modelfunding model includes various categories.
Students who are at risk, such as those with disabilities, will be given 80% scholarships and 20% loans.
The most needy students will receive 30% in loans and 70% in scholarships.
The third group of financially disadvantaged students will be given 50% in scholarships, 30% in loans, and 20% of the costs will be covered by their families.
Less needy students in the final category will receive 32% scholarships, 48% loans, and their families will cover the remaining 20% of the costs.
Four factors will be taken into consideration when deciding how much money to allocate: the program chosen, the home income range, the affirmative performance, and the government priority regions.
By doing this, it is made sure that students with various academic interests and financial circumstances stand an equal opportunity of receiving support.
Increased Budgetary Allocation: The government has increased the budget for higher education to Sh84.6 billion in order to assist the implementation of the new financial framework.
When compared to the prior allocation of Sh54 billion, this is a huge increase.
To provide improved financial support for trainees, the budgetary funding for TVETs would also increase from Sh5.2 billion to Sh10 billion.
No Fee Increase: According to President William Ruto, there won’t be any fee increases as a result of the new funding model.
The government is dedicated to providing all students with appropriate help to cover the cost of their chosen studies.
The candidates for the KCSE class of 2022 who had their admission put on hold while the funding model was being worked out are relieved by this announcement.
Features of New University Funding Model
