The Ministry of Education has announced a major increase in higher education funding, allocating Ksh.41 billion to the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) for the 2025/2026 academic year—a Ksh.5 billion rise from the previous year’s allocation of Ksh.36 billion.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, in a statement issued Thursday, emphasized that the government is committed to ensuring that “no student is left behind due to financial constraints.”
The ministry confirmed that both HELB and the Universities Fund have been adequately facilitated and have started disbursing funds to universities and students.
“To ensure no student is left behind, the Government has increased HELB’s annual funding from Ksh.36 billion to Ksh.41 billion… Ksh.13 billion has already been released for tuition and student upkeep, while Ksh.16.9 billion goes to the Universities Fund for scholarships,” said CS Ogamba.
Key updates:
First-year university students will start receiving HELB loans from August 15, 2025, aligning with university reopening dates.
The Universities Fund has also begun disbursing first-quarter scholarships to public universities.
The funds will be released in phases to facilitate a smooth transition and uninterrupted academic journey for students joining university and TVET colleges.
As of July 31, a total of 129,403 university students and 60,976 TVET trainees had applied under the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM).
CS Ogamba urged all eligible students to apply before the August 31, 2025 deadline.
For the 2025/2026 academic year, the government expects to support:
201,695 first-year university students
Over 237,000 TVET trainees
257,523 continuing students
“Processing of the already received applications is ongoing to ensure timely funds disbursement to students and Institutions of Higher Learning,” he added.
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