Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba has backed the government’s decision to unveil a new funding model, which he says will benefit vulnerable students by having a larger portion of their school fees covered by the government.

Ogamba who was speaking during a television interview, asserted that the government through the Ministry, was committed to supporting students who do not have the capacity to pay.

“The principle behind the model introduced in 2023 is that the students who do not have the capacity to pay are supported by the Government 90%,” he said adding that, “the students who come from families that are able to pay, they pay fairly what their capacity allows.”

He also stated that 60% of the students joining universities this year, are paying an average school fees of Sh 28,000. According to him, the new model had made tertiary education inexpensive with many parents being able to pay.

“The statistics that we have shown that 60% of the students that we are admitting into first year are paying an average of Sh28, 000 which means that the university has been made much affordable and many more parents are actually able to pay their portion, so the failure rate is low compared to the retention rate,” Ogamba stated.

In December 2024, the High Court quashed Kenya Kwanza administration’s move to place university students into five funding categories, aiming at offering scholarships to students ranging from 30% to 70% based on their level of need.

Justice Chacha Mwita stated that the higher education funding model was unconstitutional due to the lack of public participation and discriminatory aspects, violating constitutional rights to education.

However on March 27, 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s ruling which had declared the funding mechanism unconstitutional and discriminatory, giving government the green light to proceed with the model.