Former DP Rigathi Gachagua addressing the media at his Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri on February 9, 2025/SCREENGRAB
The Higher Educations Loans Board(Helb) system needed no fixing because it was working well, Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said.
According to the ex-DP who was addressing the media from his now popular Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri county on Sunday, the New University Funding Model has failed.
"The Helb funding programme was very good. But they changed it, yet it was working. The whites say if it's working, don't fix it," Gachagua said.
The DP alleged that since the roll out of the new university funding model he has received reports of students failing to join the universities of their choice due to lack of funds.
"Now, students are not getting funds as they used to. I have received so many requests for fundraising for university students," Gachagua said.
Gachagua's former boss and the champion of the new University Funding Model has always argued that a lack of clarity in financing education is responsible for the funding mess plaguing learning institutions.
“We have decided this time around to bite the bullet and sort out the funding in our education sector and provide clarity on the education of our children,” Ruto said.
Under the new funding model band 1 has students whose monthly income does not exceed Sh5,995 while band 2 ranges from Sh5,995 to Sh23,670.
Students from families with a monthly income of between Sh23,671 and Sh70,000 are placed in band 3 while those between Sh70,000 and Sh119,999 are in bands 4 and 5 which receive the least funding in terms of scholarships but are high on loans for students whose families earn above Sh120,000.
In a ruling in December, 2024, the High Court declared the new university funding model unconstitutional and discriminatory.
However, the government defended the model in court saying it's not discriminatory as argued by the petitioners on grounds that it allows all students to apply for scholarships and loans.
