The Universities Fund needs an additional KSh16 billion to meet scholarship requirements for the 2026/2027 financial year, with the agency warning that the money allocated may not be enough to support all students who need financial assistance.
The fund estimates that it requires KSh47 billion for scholarships this financial year but has received KSh30.1 billion, leaving a deficit of KSh16.9 billion.
Acting Chief Executive Officer Edwin Wanyonyi says scholarship providers need to work together to ensure more students benefit from the available funding instead of some receiving assistance from several organisations while others get nothing.
Wanyonyi spoke on Wednesday, October 28, during a meeting in Nairobi that brought together government agencies, private sponsors, corporate foundations and non-governmental organisations offering scholarships and bursaries.
He said the problem goes beyond the amount of money available, pointing to cases where students receive funding from more than one organisation while others struggle to pay for university.
“Our biggest challenge isn’t mobilizing resources; it is creating impact with the resources we already have,” Wanyonyi said.
He questioned why some students were receiving financial support from different providers while others remained without assistance.
“Some of the students we are funding are also being funded by your organisations. How do we collaborate?” he asked.
The conference was coordinated by the Universities Fund and had a theme Reaching More Students, Together where the participants considered the need for cooperation and identification of learners that have been left behind by scholarship programs.
It is estimated by the fund that 608,879 learners will access scholarships in the 2026/2027 financial year within the Student-Centred Funding Model.
Among the recommendations considered at the forum was a proposal for a common data management system where scholarship providers could see which students have been provided with financial support and identify those that need support.
This system will not only help in minimizing cases where some organizations are providing financial support for the same learner but leaving other learners without scholarships. However, participants were advised that the information concerning the learners must be safeguarded following the provisions of Data Protection Act, 2019.
Also, the scholarship providers discussed the need to collaborate in sensitizing the learners about available scholarships, sharing information and mobilizing resources.
With the funding gap standing at KSh16.9 billion, the Universities Fund is also looking to improve how available resources are shared as the demand for university scholarships grows.
