President William Ruto is set to merge the three funding bodies in Kenya’s higher education sector.
This follows the President’s education reforms expected to submit its second preliminary report this month.
“The government will establish the National Skill and Funding Council that amalgamates HELB, TVET, and University Funding Board,” Ruto said.
This is intended to scale up higher education funding gap of about 45 percent.
This plan will double the current HELB funding from Sh11billion to Sh22 billion and even eliminate HELB loan interests.
“We know many universities are facing numerous challenges and significant debts as a result of the programme’s length,” he added.
However, university stakeholders opposed the proposal to merge HELB and UFB in November 2022.
University of Nairobi Student Association (UNSA) chairperson Melvin Thogo said the plan will not be a solution to the funding crisis in universities.