No Gov’t Scholarships for students joining private universities, says CS Machogu

Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ezekiel Machogu has reiterated that students joining private universities are not eligible for government scholarships.

The CS spoke on Wednesday during the launch of the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) portal for 2022 KCSE candidates.

The minister said all the 869,782 candidates will be eligible to enroll in any institution of their choice.

Machogu said 173,127 candidates who attained the minimum entry grade of C+ will enroll for degree courses.

Those who attained a C grade and below will be enrolled in all Technical and Vocational Education Training Institutions (TVET) institutions.

The CS announced that all institutions have met all conditions required to enroll students and have already published course fees for different study programmes on their websites.

“This will guide students to make choices based on their income levels of their households,” he said.

Machogu said selected students will have the option to apply for government scholarships from the University fund as guided by the new funding model announced by President William Ruto.

“They will also have opportunities to apply for HELB (Government loan) which will be allocated upon using a full-proof tool used to assess students to be awarded scholarships.

“I wish to reiterate that students who will select courses in Public Universities will be eligible to access both the Government scholarships and loans, while those who will select Private Universities will be eligible for Government loans only,” he stated.

CS Machogu explained; “The whole idea is premised on the fact each student should be treated on the level of their need and that no deserving student should be denied an opportunity to acquire higher education and training in the institution of their choice.”