More than 42,000 students are yet to complete applications for government scholarships and loans ahead of the 2026/27 academic year. [File Courtesy]
More than 42,000 students placed in public universities for degree programmes have yet to complete applications for Government funding, raising fresh questions about how they will finance their studies when the new academic year begins.
Data from the Universities Fund shows that 202,133 students were placed in public universities by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Placement Service (KUCCPS) for the 2026/2027 academic year.
However, some 159,551 had completed their applications for scholarships and loans through the Higher Education Financing (HEF) portal by August 20.
Of the 159,551 completed applications, 150,403 included a scholarship component, with 149,761 students who applied for a combination of scholarship and loan funding and 642 who applied for scholarships only.
Universities Fund (UF) chief executive officer Edwin Wanyonyi said another 9,148 students applied for loans without scholarships.
He indicated that the majority of these students are those who applied to private universities.