Education ministry orders universities to ensure new admission letters reach first years by Monday

The Ministry of Education has directed all universities in the country to ensure that first-year students receive the amended fee structures by Monday next week.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, in a statement on Friday, issued the order saying that new admission letters for the 2023 KCSE cohort had already been released in accordance with President William Ruto’s directive on Wednesday.

He said that the letters contained new fee structures for the first batch of 125,893 students who had applied for loans and scholarships under the student-centred model.

“President Dr. William Samoei Ruto on Wednesday, August 14th, 2024 directed universities to release new fee structures to first year students stipulating the annual household contribution towards the total cost of degree programmes,” stated CS Ogamba.

“The Ministry has directed universities to ensure all letters have reached the first year students by Monday, August 19th 2024.”

The CS noted that the student-centred model has awarded scholarships and loans to students according to their individual level of need, consistent with any one of the five predetermined bands.

“The ministry remains dedicated to ensuring that student funding is allocated fairly and equitably, addressing the genuine needs of applicants. Based on validated application information, the evaluation criteria consider a student's family economic background, affirmative action, socio-demographic factors, and family education expenditures,” stated the CS.

He noted that in line with the government’s commitment to quality and affordable higher education for all students, Ksh.25.3 billion would be disbursed for scholarships and loans to the 2024/25 students who have already applied.

CS Ogamba implored eligible students who are yet to apply to do so without delay to ensure prompt processing of their applications, adding that the application portal will remain open and that all additional applications will be processed swiftly on a rolling basis.