Students pursuing Diploma programmes are set to start receiving capitation funds in 2023 from the government as part of renewed efforts by the State to boost workforce capacity.
On Wednesday, education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu assured students pursuing Diploma programmes of the funding to address unemployment in the country.
“We want to assure those doing diploma courses because I understand they are not accessing capitation funds, that from this coming year, we will be able to make available capitation funds for the diploma students,” said Machogu.
Currently, state capitation is only given to government-sponsored undergraduate students in public and private universities and those admitted to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
The government has increased its focus on technical training programmes in a quest to feed the labour market with craftsmen and technicians recently.
The announcement comes amid continued struggles by the government to fully fund the tuition costs of State-sponsored students in public and private universities, casting doubts on its ability to provide more cash.
A growing number of university students snubbing undergraduate programmes for diploma and technical courses has marked a departure from a past trend when many viewed degrees as a ticket for getting a job and promotion at the workplace.
To encourage uptake, the government has opened funding from Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) to students pursuing diploma programmes and those joining TVETs, a shift from the past where the loans were available only to students pursuing degree courses.
University administrators have been pushing the government to allow them to increase tuition fees to ease the cash flow hitches.
For instance, the University of Nairobi hiked tuition fees for admitted undergraduate students last year.
The CS spoke during a ground-breaking ceremony for new tuition blocks at the Technical University of Kenya.
