State releases Sh2.7bn varsity loans, bursaries
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.
The government has released Sh2.7 billion for university loans and bursaries for 180,000 students.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said the Treasury has sent the funds to the Higher Education Loans Board for further disbursement to eligible students ahead of varsity examinations.
“The Education Ministry is aware that the majority of Government sponsored students in our public and private universities are preparing to sit their end-of-semester examinations for the 2022/2023 academic calendar,” Mr Machogu noted.
He further directed all universities to allow beneficiaries to sit their end-of-semester examinations as scheduled.
University students complained over the delays in the release of the funds and in September last year, wrote to President William Ruto to address their plight.
“We request that a directive be issued to settle the blame game between Helb and the Treasury so that comrades receive their loans to meet tuition and accommodation expenses, alongside other needs that facilitate their study,” read a letter to Dr Ruto by Antony Manyara, Kenya University Student Organisation president.
Last month Embakasi East MP Babu Owino through his Twitter platform asked the Treasury to fast-track the process of disbursement and threatened action by comrades if their demand was not met.
President Ruto recently hinted at a new policy shift, indicating that funding for university education will only be for needy students.
"We have students in academies who pay Sh200,000 a term but when they go to university, we tell them we can pay for all of them. Why? If a parent can pay for their child in primary and in secondary, why don’t we allow them to pay for their child in university so that we support the children of the people who cannot afford,” he said during an interview with journalists at State House last month.
