Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migosi. /JULIUS OGAMBA/X
The government has extended the deadline for first-time university and TVET applicants seeking higher education funding, giving thousands of students and trainees more time to submit their applications.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said the Universities Fund and the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has been directed to reopen the application window until September 21, 2026
The initial application window closed on August 31, with the government receiving 789,422 applications for funding from university students and TVET trainees.
“Recognising that some eligible students and trainees may not have met the initial deadline on account of various causes, the Universities Fund and the Higher Education Loans Board have been directed to extend the application window for all eligible applicants, to 21st September, 2026,” Ogamba said in a statement on Thursday.
He urged all eligible first-time applicants to take advantage of the extension and submit their applications promptly.
The announcement comes amid reports of newly admitted university students remaining at home after failing to raise fees, with concerns that the current funding system has not adequately addressed the financial needs of students joining universities for the first time.
Ogamba said the government has already disbursed Sh22.12 billion in first-semester and first-term funding to continuing university students and TVET trainees.
Ogamba clarified that applications submitted during the extended window will be assessed and processed under the Student-Centred Funding Model, which remains the applicable framework.
“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 Student-Centred Funding Model, introduced by the government in May 2023 as a replacement for the previous differentiated unit cost model of allocating block funding to universities based on student population rather than programme cost, has faced criticism over the level of support awarded to some beneficiaries.
The government has developed the universal Tertiary Education Placement and Funding system with the attendant bill awaiting parliamentary approval before the model is rolled out.
But even then, the government has linked increased access to university and TVET education to the student-centred funding system, under which financial assistance is determined by the assessed level of need and the cost of a student's programme.
Ogamba urged eligible applicants not to wait until the final days of the extended window to submit their applications.
The extension is expected to give first year students who missed the August 31 deadline an opportunity to apply before institutions proceed further with the admission and registration process.
