Ezekiel Machogu, Cabinet Secretary for Education, has stated that the government will no longer pay students who qualify for university but want to attend private universities.
On Thursday, CS Machogu assured the Public Investment Committee on Governance and Education that the government was changing its strategy to ensure students were put in public universities.
Members of Parliament were lamenting the Ksh.20 billion spent on students who should have been in public universities but were instead attending private universities.
"We're speaking the same language; we've said that the government will place all students in public universities unless a parent requests otherwise; that's what we've said, and that's what our policy is now," he said.
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According to the CS, the new policy will require a student or parent to decide and plan for it.
According to committee Chair Jack Wamboka, the government spent Ksh.20 billion in the previous fiscal year to cover students in private colleges who would have attended public universities.
Although Ksh.13.7 billion was spent on capitations and Ksh.6.7 billion on grants, an audit of public facilities revealed they could accommodate all students who obtained the university pass.
Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service has also pledged to prioritize public universities in placing students who have qualified for university education.
According to the CS, the criterion for funding university courses will be based on performance and program selection, household income categories, affirmative action, and government priority sectors.
Meanwhile, some MPs expressed concern about the new policy, warning that it could disenfranchise vulnerable people.
This came after it was revealed that state universities have nearly Ksh.60 billion in outstanding invoices and massively blocked projects.
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