The government says it has disbursed Sh1.56 billion to TVET and university students for their tuition and upkeep.
Education CS Julius Ogamba said in a statement on Tuesday the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) released the funds on Friday, March 14.
"The beneficiary students and trainees have since been notified of the disbursements through Helb's official communication channels and advised to check their Helb portals," the CS said.
The beneficiaries comprise 31,263 TVET trainees and 33,863 university students, he said.
"The latest disbursement means that in the current Financial Year 2024-25, Helb has disbursed a total of Sh32.7 billion in upkeep and tuition loans to 195,522 trainees in TVET institutions and 390,612 students in universities."
Ogamba said the government will continue to provide financial support to university students and TVET trainees towards the attainment of their academic and training goals.
Government-sponsored TVET and university students are entitled to tuition and upkeep loans based on the old funding model after the High Court in December last year declared the new student-centered model unconstitutional.
The old university funding model uses the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) to allocate funding to public universities based on student enrollment and the programmes they are undertaking.
The government provides 80 per of the cost while universities raise the remaining 20 per cent from student fees, research and other income-generating activities.
The DUC model was phased out in July 2023, and a new Higher Education Student Centred Funding Model was introduced.
The new funding model sought to disburse funding in terms of scholarships and loans allocated based on assessed levels of need of each student.
Following the High Court's suspension of the new funding model, Helb reverted to funding First and Second-year university students using the old DUC model.
"The provision of this funding will ensure that student and trainee needs are met, enabling them to continue with their academic, training and research programmes without hindrance," Ogamba said.
