By Ken Muthomi - Tech and Business Journalist based in Kenya
"Education financing is actually too important and fragile to be treated as a series of experiments." - Ken Muthomi
President William Ruto's proposal to fully fund university education for all students admitted to public universities has been welcomed by some as a bold step toward expanding access to higher education, but others remain skeptical about whether the government can deliver on the promise.
On paper, this is actually a very attractive idea. The prospect of every qualified student attending university without worrying about tuition fees is one that any country aspiring to be identified as a third-world nation by building a knowledge-based economy would welcome.
The new proposal, which was tabled in parliament this week, comes barely three years after the administration announced the rollout of the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM), which now replaced the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) funding system.
If this universal funding actually sails through, it will now be the fourth University financing under President Ruto, which includes the DUC, two versions of the Student- Centred Funding Model, which have been unsuccessful due to significant underfunding, leaving some institutions in debt as the government fails to fully fulfil its commitments to fund them.
The previous models promised to allocate government support based on students' financial needs, ensuring that those from poor households received more assistance, but it actually ended up triggering confusion, legal challenges, public protests, and numerous complaints from students and parents over placement into funding bands.
Although the government continued to defend the reforms and made several adjustments along the way, many Kenyans remained unconvinced.
Speaking in State House this week, as he presented the plan, the Head of State, who has since his election in 2022 faced significant backlash over unsuccessful signature projects, said that the new model is a game changer because the government has reviewed glitches on previous funding models and has now made reforms in the new one to ensure that it is successful.
"Going forward, any student, so long as they have passed their examinations and they have been placed in a college or university, will get full funding for their higher education. It will be the choice for parents if they want to pay,” Ruto said.
“Countries that are ahead of us had high-quality education. Education was a central pillar. My team tells me that education makes us equal and has no equal. That is where we are taking this.”
The swift succession of these models now triggers questions about policy consistency. Education financing is actually too important and fragile to be treated as a series of experiments.
For every model, universities, students, parents, lenders, and policymakers need to adopt it, but these constant changes have created uncertainty and made long-term planning difficult for institutions that are already grappling with financing issues.
A policy, in all sectors, should not simply sound appealing on paper; it should also demonstrate that it is feasible and financially sustainable.
In recent years, renowned public universities have continued to face significant financial challenges, with some accumulating substantial debts, struggling to meet payroll obligations, maintain infrastructure, or recruit enough teaching staff.
On the other hand, student accommodation remains inadequate on many campuses, laboratories require modernization, and research funding remains limited.
Against this backdrop, promising universal government funding inevitably raises questions about affordability. How much will it cost? Where will the additional money come from? Will the Treasury be able to sustain the commitment year after year, especially amid competing demands on public finances?
But perhaps, a larger issue lies somewhere else. Universities represent the final stage of a much longer educational journey that begins in early childhood education, progresses through primary school, and continues into secondary school.
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You see, if the lower levels of education remain weak and unstable, university reforms alone cannot guarantee the full transformation of the country’s education outcomes.
In many parts of the country, primary and secondary schools continue to struggle with limited infrastructure, teacher shortages, and a lack of learning materials and infrastructure.
Actually, in some regions, students have to walk long distances every morning to reach their schools, while others learn under trees or in temporary structures. These realities should concern the government just as much as university tuition.
When children begin their educational journey under such harsh conditions, discussions about fully funding university education risk overlooking a more fundamental problem: many learners never make it to university in the first place.
In recent years, some students have left school because of poverty and a lack of teachers, and some are still performing poorly because they have studied for decades in overcrowded classrooms.
This is why the country’s education debate should not focus only on the final destination, but also on the road leading there, because if the road is weak, promising and expanded university funding programmes will only address part of the problem.
This is not an argument against supporting university students; higher education remains fundamental for producing professionals and innovators who drive economic development, but equity in the education sector should begin long before students receive their university admission letters.
Instead of reengineering university financing every now and then, the government should conduct a comprehensive evaluation of previous reforms; such a review should identify what worked, what did not, and why.
Lessons from that assessment would provide a stronger foundation for future policy decisions than simply replacing the models after a few years.
President Ruto's proposal has reopened an important national conversation about access to higher education, which should continue, but it should also expand to include the broader question of where scarce public resources can have the greatest long-term impact.
Major education reforms should be anchored in extensive consultation, evidence-based policymaking, and long-term stability. Frequent shifts in funding approaches risk undermining public confidence, even though the intentions are positive.
The writer is a Tech and Business journalist based in Kenya. He comments on topical issues.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dawan Africa.