Lead image for Thousands go without scholarships amid TVET funding shortfall.
Four in five TVET trainees targeted for scholarships missed out last year as funding lagged enrolment.
Parliament data shows the State Department for TVET targeted 440,826 trainees but funded only 89,054, barely one in five.
The department funded them after receiving an additional Sh1 billion through the supplementary budget. It required Sh8.72 billion but received Sh3.5 billion, leaving a Sh5.2 billion deficit.
The shortfall has left thousands struggling to clear fees, with some dropping out and others relying on MPs and well-wishers.
“We have been very intentional in bringing these young people to our institutions but the Exchequer is our biggest undoing,” TVET principal secretary Esther Muoria told the National Assembly Education Committee during a 2025/26 budget meeting.
The State Department says the funding gap has persisted since the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM) was introduced in 2023, with allocations falling short of scholarship needs.
Under the model, scholarships and loans are apportioned according to students’ assessed financial need, while institutions receive funding through the Variable Scholarship and Loan Funding (VSLF) approach, replacing the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model. University scholarships are handled by the Universities Fund (UF), while TVET scholarships are administered by the State Department.
Also Read: Thousands apply for loans as uncertainty clouds varsity funding overhaul