First-year university students and TVET trainees have until September 21, 2026, to apply for government funding after the Ministry of Education extended the application window by three weeks.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) and Universities Fund had been directed to reopen the window for eligible students who missed the initial August 31 deadline.
The government said 789,422 funding applications had been received by the time the first application window closed.
Ogamba said current applications will be processed under the existing Student-Centred Funding Model, meaning a proposed new funding framework will not apply to the ongoing exercise while the government awaits parliamentary approval.
“For the avoidance of doubt, application for funding for first-time applicants will be considered and processed in accordance with the current Student-Centred Funding Model,” Ogamba said in a statement dated September 3.
The clarification comes as the government prepares to transition to the proposed Universal Access and Funding Framework, which is tied to the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026.
Ogamba said the transition will only take effect after Parliament approves the proposed legislation.
“Appropriate transitional mechanisms to the Universal Access and Funding Framework shall be implemented once Parliament passes the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026,” he said.
The extension targets first-time applicants in universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions who were unable to complete their applications before the initial deadline.
The ministry said the additional window was granted after acknowledging that some eligible students and trainees may have missed the deadline for various reasons.
“All eligible first-time applicants in universities and TVETs are invited to promptly apply for funding within this extended window,” Ogamba said.
The government has meanwhile already disbursed Sh22.12 billion in first-semester funding to continuing university students and TVET trainees, according to the ministry.
The extension gives students who had not submitted their applications another opportunity to seek scholarships and loans through the existing higher education financing system.
The funding model has remained a key issue for students, universities and parents as the government works on changes to the way public financing for tertiary education is allocated.
For now, however, students joining universities and TVET institutions will continue to have their applications assessed under the Student-Centred Funding Model until the proposed legal changes are approved by Parliament.
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