Universities now say they will not demand fees from new students until a case in court challenging the annulment of the new university funding model is dispensed with.
The move will heave a sigh of relief for thousands of university students whose studies hang in the balance after the High Court last December declared the new model unconstitutional.
On Thursday, Professor Daniel Mugendi, the Chairperson of the Vice-Chancellor's Committee, however, said the exemption would only apply to first and second-year students.
This is the first and second cohort of students who were beneficiaries of the new university funding model the government rolled out in May 2023.
The model looks at various parameters before determining the amount of fees payable by a student taking into consideration poverty levels and the cost of their courses.
Mugendi, who is also the Embu University Vice-Chancellor, said the move will enable seamless studies for first and second-year students affected by the court ruling.
“For first years, we are not asking them to pay fees for now until the issue is resolved through the courts because they don’t even know how much they are supposed to pay,’’ Mugendi said when he addressed the media in Nairobi.
“There is that confusion because once the new university funding model was declared unconstitutional by the courts then they are not sure what to pay.’’
Students in universities have threatened to go on strike over a lack of fees and upkeep money.
Mugendi also disclosed that the government has already released funding for the first and second years but the money cannot be disbursed by HELB and universities fund because of the court order.
The VC said that in the case of self-sponsored students in their first year, they will not be affected by the exemption because they are not under government sponsorship.
Mugendi said the court ruling threw the university education into confusion because it did not provide transition mechanisms that would ensure continuity.
“We have gone back to court to challenge that ruling and we have requested the courts to give us stay orders so that we can operate and enable students to pay fees,’’ he said.
The VC said that a stay order, at least for now, would allow the government to address the issues the courts felt were offending the university funding model.
“Universities have opened but because of the court ruling, we find that universities are in a very difficult situation to operate because the first years and second years cannot have their support from Helb and the University Funding Board released because of the court order,’’ Mugendi said.
However, Mugendi said that capitation to universities for third, fourth, fifth and sixth-year students has been released by the government.
“That is what is keeping universities operational for now because the rest of the students have even their upkeep from HELB already in their accounts,’’ he said.
The VC expressed optimism that the case could be concluded by next week to enable funding agencies to release money to universities and students for upkeep.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba held a meeting with all university vice-chancellors on Wednesday in Nairobi where a decision was made to allow university students to resume without fees.
The CS asked universities to allow new students to report for classes as the government pursues the appeal against the High Court ruling with a view to have Justice Chacha Mwita’s orders lifted.
Funding agencies are challenging the judgment, delivered on December 20, 2024, arguing that its consequences could halt learning in universities because of delays in disbursing funds for students continuing their studies.
