Ruto is doing guesswork on university funding model - Malala

Speaking during an interview on SpiceFM on Wednesday, Malala argued that the new university funding model would have been a success if only the President had taken time to undertake a feasibility study.

“We have a president who is just a guesswork president, and he does not believe in public participation. If President William Ruto had done a comprehensive feasibility study on the issue of University funding, he would have gotten it right,” said the former Kakamega Senator.

Malala blamed Ruto for lacking certainty, hence the funding model was no longer effective. He claimed that he is planning to transition to a 100 % funding model for all public university students.

According to Malala, these failures signal the incompetence of a leader who is in office. He further maintained that all processes that affect the masses must go through a feasibility study to ensure they are viable.

Earlier this month, while appearing before the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, the Cabinet Secretary for Education Julius Ogamba confirmed that funding requirements for public universities have significantly exceeded the approved budgetary allocation.

According to recent reports, for the 2025/2026 financial year, the government required nearly Ksh.30 billion to finance first-year students under the Student-Centred Funding Model but allocated only Ksh.18.4 billion, leaving a deficit of Ksh.11.5 billion.

Continuing students under the Differentiated Unit Cost Funding Model also face a funding gap of Ksh.17.46 billion after the sector received Ksh.23 billion against a requirement of Ksh.40.47 billion.

Combined, the university sector requires Ksh.70.39 billion for scholarships and grants but received only Ksh.41.42 billion, resulting in an overall funding gap of almost Ksh.29 billion.

However, on Tuesday, President William Ruto said the government has already initiated plans to fully fund students who qualify for public universities.