Students Criticize Ruto’s New University Funding Model

Kenyan University leaders have come out to criticize president Ruto’s new University Funding model, seeking to understand why the Model is being implemented in a rush.

In a town hall session held at Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) in Nairobi Sunday, Ruto found it hard to justify the new funding model as students probe what went wrong with the previous model.

Ruto defended his decision to scrap the old model saying: “The old funding model was almost destroying our education because it assumed that all the courses were the same.”

READ:Farah Maalim Praises Ruto’s Government Amid Disquiet by Kenyans

The head of state said the old model was “killing” universities, arguing that it had made it difficult for universities to operate because it lacked sufficient funding.

He lauded the new model saying it has borne fruits since its inception.

“The old model was killing our universities. As of June 17, 2023, 23 out of 40 universities were technically insolvent. The round of this model that we started last year has been able to get many of those universities out of the pit,” president Ruto said.

Since the government rolled out the new higher education model, which seeks to categorize families according to income, it has attracted a lot of criticism.

Some students from poor backgrounds which the government emphasized it’s trying to help found themselves placed at tier five which would see the families catering 90% of their children’s university fee.