CS Ogamba Clarifies New University Fees & Student Placement Amid Outcry

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba on Monday came out to address confusion surrounding the new university fees after the government slashed the fund by 40 per cent weeks earlier.
At the start of August, the Education Cabinet Secretary announced the government had lowered university fees payable by students across all academic programmes.
Despite the announcement, the rollout of the lowered fees has been marred by inconsistencies, with students across the country left in uncertainty over delays in letters confirming the cut, despite applications.
Ogamba moved to avert fears, as he explained the delays in disbursing letters confirming student applications were largely due to late submissions from some institutions.
“Everything was ready on Friday, August 15. It is only now that the universities have started inputting data on students’ totals. Some schools were behind because of the weekend, but it should be ready this week,” Ogamba said.
As the September to November semester draws nearer, several university students and their parents are yet to settle their fees, since they are yet to hear from the government on the 40 per cent reduction.
“I applied for HELB and a scholarship, and I was told it was successful. But I’m not sure how much I will receive since the government announced a reduction of fees,” he said.
Similar difficulties were faced by some Kisii University students, who promised to stop their studies until they knew the precise amount they would be required to pay.
The students claimed that only certain courses were affected by the cut, leaving others in a state of uncertainty.
“For some courses, a lot of changes announced by the government have not been effected. Until we see that change, that’s when we will believe the fee has changed,” one student claimed.
Ogamba, however, responded by restating that the delays were only temporary and shouldn’t have an impact on how students are admitted to their classes.
The government explained the fee reduction by stating that it was necessary to implement a student-centered funding model in order to increase the number of students enrolling in higher education.
Under the new funding model, students are grouped according to their level of need; students who are particularly vulnerable and in need receive more assistance, and their families are expected to contribute less.
Online applications are submitted via the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal; however, since the government receives thousands of applications every day, there is no assurance that every student will be awarded funding.