On July 31, 2023, the Kenya Government launched the Higher Education Financing (HEF) Portal, through which applications for scholarships, loans and bursaries will be made individually soon after receiving admission letters.

However, questions have been floated revolving around How To Apply For Government Scholarship in Kenya and who will be its beneficiaries, prompting a debunk of the conundrum.

How To Apply For Government Scholarship in Kenya

New Funding Model was launched by the government of Kenya to address the challenges that public universities and TVET colleges were facing which were attributed primarily on massive enrollment and inadequate funding. The funding model is student centered and loans and bursaries will be apportioned to students based on their assessed level of need.

The universities and TVET will no longer receive block funding in the form of capitation. The funding to students shall combine scholarship, loans and household contributions on a graduated scale as determined Means Testing Instrument [MTI]. Students from extremely needy and vulnerable backgrounds will pay nothing to colleges and universities

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Government Scholarship Requirements

According to the University Fund Kenya, one must be Kenyan and a KCSE examination candidate who sat their exam in the previous year to be eligible for the scholarship.

He or she must have also been placed by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to pursue an undergraduate, diploma, craft certificate, or artisan course at one of Kenya’s accredited public universities or TVET colleges.

The scholarship will be open to students who sat their KCSE examination from 2022 on wards.

Once confirmed to have met the requirements, one will be needed to visit HEF, Universities fund or HELB for application with a checklist meeting the requirements mentioned below;

A valid email address, a valid phone number registered to the applicant’s name, KCPE and KCSE index numbers and year of examination, College/University admission letter and a copy of the sponsorship letter for those sponsored in secondary school.

Others are the applicant’s parent/guardian’s registered numbers, the applicant’s ID number, death certificate if parents are deceased, a passport photo and a birth certificate.

Also, those who will be seeking loans will be needed to have the ID numbers and telephone numbers for two guarantors.

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Step By Step Guide For Scholarship Application

On the platform, one will first register/log in, fill out their profile and upload their documents, tick the box to apply for a scholarship or a loan and submit the application.

The applicant will then wait for the award within 30 days and then wait for an SMS payment notification.

It is also worth noting that students in private universities are not eligible for the government scholarship fund, but can apply for loans through HELB.

Continuing students will not be affected by the funding model and will continue to receive their funding based on the previous funding model.

The level of funding for each student will depend on the monthly household income and the financial aid has been classified into four categories, the vulnerable, extremely needy, needy and less needy.

Under the model, those students falling under the vulnerable and extremely needy band will qualify for 100% government funding for their studies with the money coming as scholarships and loans, and those deemed to be needy and less needy will get 93% government funding, with the students bearing 7% of the tuition costs.