Public universities programmes up to 40pc cheaper: Migos » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 — The newly-mandated revision of public universities fees will yield a 15-40 per cent reduction in fees payable across different programmes, the Ministry of Education has said.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos announced the changes in a statement on Thursday evening following a directive by the State Department for Higher Education.
“The insights and data generated on staff-student ratios as well as economies of scale accruing from a growing number of students informed the recalibration of the student-payable fees,” Migos said.
The CS said the rationalization, preceded by stakeholder input including views by public universities and students, was undertaken by National Committee on Review of the University Education Funding Model.
He urged students and guardians to check the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal (www.hef.co.ke) or their respective university admissions and finance offices for details.
Migos issued the statement a day after Higher Education Principal Secretary Beatrice Inyangala directed Vice Chancellors and Principals of Constituent Colleges to revise fees fpr all academic programmes by September 1.
“In direct response to concerns raised by students and their families, the Government has lowered fees payable by students across all academic programmes,” the PS stated in the letter, which was copied to Head of Public Service Felix Koskei and circulated to the media on Thursday.
She added that the rationalization of public university fees aligns with the Student-Centred Funding Model introduced by President William Ruto’s administration in May 2023.
“This bold step reaffirms our commitment to ensuring affordable, accessible, and quality university education, while maintaining the financial sustainability of our institutions,” Inyangala noted.
Although the State Department did not provide details on the extent of the fee reduction, it said the revised schedule will apply to both first-year and continuing students.
“All public universities [are] further directed to update their admissions and finance portals to reflect the revised fees of academic programmes,” she said.
Need-based funding model
Inyangala explained that the institution will cover the cost of programmes through a combination of tuition fees, government scholarships, and loans based on the financial needs of individual students.
Under the revised fee schedule, pre-clinical medical programmes will cost a maximum of Sh51,840 with Clinical Medical programmes costing a maximum of Sh75,000.
The schedule outlines fourteen different clusters covering disciplines including Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary, Pharmacy, Architectural Studies and Engineering Surveying.
Under the guidelines, Basic Science programmes will cost a maximum of Sh42,636 with Applied Social Sciences and Arts costing a maximum of Sh38,760.
Basic Humanities and Social Sciences will cost a maximum of Sh23,256 under the guidelines.
