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Ruto promises full university funding as students battle KUCCPS, HELB glitches.
President William Ruto has pledged that the government will fully fund every student who qualifies for higher education, starting with the 2026 cohort and regardless of their parents' means – a significant promise following turbulence over the previous student-funding model.
The assurance came as students reported technical disruptions on the KUCCPS and HELB portals during course transfers and funding applications, adding stress to an already anxious placement season. Officials said applications would continue under the existing framework until new legislation takes effect.
That legislation – the Tertiary Placement and Funding Bill, 2026 – would merge HELB and the Universities Fund into a single Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA), a restructuring the government argues will streamline support. Its passage through Parliament is now pivotal to delivering on the funding promise.
For families across Kenya, including many in Kibra sending their first child to university, the stakes are deeply personal. A workable, transparent funding system can open doors that would otherwise stay shut – but only if the portals work and the money actually arrives when students need it.
This story was put together by K N N from material first published by Citizen Digital.
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
President William Ruto has pledged that the government will fully fund every student who qualifies for higher education, starting with the 2026 cohort and regardless of their parents’ means — a significant promise following turbulence over the previous student-funding model.
The assurance came as students reported technical disruptions on the KUCCPS and HELB portals during course transfers and funding applications, adding stress to an already anxious placement season. Officials said applications would continue under the existing framework until new legislation takes effect.
That legislation — the Tertiary Placement and Funding Bill, 2026 — would merge HELB and the Universities Fund into a single Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA), a restructuring the government argues will streamline support. Its passage through Parliament is now pivotal to delivering on the funding promise.
For families across Kenya, including many in Kibra sending their first child to university, the stakes are deeply personal. A workable, transparent funding system can open doors that would otherwise stay shut — but only if the portals work and the money actually arrives when students need it.
