Ruto says public university students to get full government funding

President William Ruto. [PCS]

President William Ruto has announced plans for the government to fully fund every student admitted to a public university or college, doing away with the income-based model that has drawn criticism and legal challenges since 2023.

Ruto said the changes are contained in amendments already before Parliament and are designed to ensure no qualified student misses out on higher education because of their financial background.

"It will not matter the background of any child in Kenya, but how good they are," said Ruto.

He spoke on Tuesday, July 21, at State House while receiving a report titled Developing a New Vision for Kenya: Towards a First World Nation.

The President explained the government had tried several university funding models without success, including the differentiated funding system introduced in previous years.

"Going into the future, we have tried to grapple with how to fund our universities. We tried the differentiated model. It did not work because it made most universities close down," he said.

He noted the government then moved to a model requiring parents to contribute according to their ability, but has now resolved to adopt a universal approach instead.

"We have worked on what we thought was equity, where parents would pay. Now we are moving to universal under the amendments we have taken to Parliament," Ruto observed.

Under the proposed changes, every student who qualifies for admission to a university or college will have their education fully financed by the state.

"Going forward, any student who has passed and is placed in a college or university, each of them will get full funding for their education," said the President.

He added that parents willing and able to contribute would retain the option to do so, while those unable to afford the costs would receive government support.

"It will be the choice of parents to pay. If they don't want to pay, we have a model to pay for them. We are doing it because we want to be deliberate," Ruto added.

The proposal comes after years of turmoil over Ruto's earlier funding reforms, which triggered student protests, a High Court suspension in 2024 and a Court of Appeal reversal in 2025.