42,000 university students yet to complete funding applications

More than 42,000 students are yet to complete applications for government scholarships and loans ahead of the 2026/27 academic year. [File Courtesy]

More than 42,000 students placed in public universities for degree programmes have yet to complete applications for Government funding, raising fresh questions about how they will finance their studies when the new academic year begins.

Data from the Universities Fund shows that 202,133 students were placed in public universities by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Placement Service (KUCCPS) for the 2026/2027 academic year.

However, some 159,551 had completed their applications for scholarships and loans through the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal by August 20.

Of the 159,551 completed applications, 150,403 included a scholarship component, with 149,761 students who applied for a combination of scholarship and loan funding and 642 who applied for scholarships only.

Universities Fund (UF) chief executive officer Edwin Wanyonyi said another 9,148 students applied for loans without scholarships.

He indicated that the majority of these students are those who applied to private universities.

This leaves about 42,582 students who had not completed the funding application process, even as universities prepare to admit the new cohort.

The students now have until August 31 to complete applications for Government funding, leaving them with days to secure the scholarships and loans they need to finance their degree courses.

“We, therefore, wish to encourage the affected students to complete the application process by 31st August 2026,” Dr Wanyonyi said.

The Universities Fund further revealed that 5,732 applications were still ongoing or incomplete.

The figures were released as the Universities Fund received ISO 9001:2015 recertification from the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

Wanyonyi said the certification would strengthen accountability and reliability in the management of higher education financing.

Currently, 437,648 students are funded under the system, drawn from three cohorts: 122,634 students admitted in 2023, 134,889 in 2024, and 180,125 in 2025.

However, budget allocations have not kept pace with the rising student numbers.

Universities Fund Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Edwin Wanyonyi said that in the 2024/25 financial year, the government allocated Sh25 billion for scholarships against a requirement of about Sh34.6 billion, leaving a shortfall of Sh9.6 billion.

In the 2025/26 financial year, the allocation fell to Sh18.9 billion, against a requirement of about Sh23.9 billion, resulting in a deficit of approximately Sh5 billion.

For the 2026/27 financial year, the government has allocated Sh30.1 billion, against a projected requirement of about Sh37 billion, leaving a shortfall of about Sh6.9 billion.

Wanyonyi said the funding gap does not mean that some students receive no scholarship support, as the available funds are spread across all eligible students.

“We have done it in a way that there is no student that is not funded. So however much money we receive, we actually distribute it to every student in the university,” Wanyonyi said.