Kenya's Cabinet has approved the merger of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), Universities Fund, TVET Funding Board, and Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) into a single authority. This follows recommendations from the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform. The changes will take effect once the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2024, is passed by Parliament.
According to a Cabinet dispatch issued on February 10, 2026, the merger aims to eliminate longstanding inefficiencies in the higher education sector. These changes come as students who sat for the 2025 KCSE exams look forward to joining various tertiary institutions across the country.
The Cabinet has considered, adopted, and forwarded to Parliament a package of education reform bills, including the Kenya National Educational Assessments Bill, 2025, which will replace the examination-centric model of the Kenya National Examinations Council with competency-based assessments. Additionally, the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024, may limit the institute's mandate to basic and teacher education.
Other bills include the Basic Education Bill, 2024, which will clarify national and county roles in education and introduce coordinated administration of bursaries and scholarships. "The Basic Education Bill, 2024, aligns the system with the Competency-Based Education structure, clarifies national and county roles, strengthens quality assurance, rationalises school governance, and introduces coordinated administration of bursaries and scholarships," the Cabinet stated.
The Kenya National Qualifications Framework (Amendment) Bill, 2024, will clarify the mandate of the Kenya National Qualifications Authority. Further approvals cover the Pre-Service Education and In-Service Training in Basic Education Bill, 2025, for teachers' training and professional development, and the Education Administrative Tribunal Bill, 2024, to establish mechanisms for resolving education-related disputes. The Cabinet is optimistic that these bills will align governance, curriculum, assessment, financing, teacher training, and qualifications with the Constitution and the Competency-Based Education and Training framework.