Kenya's government has slashed funding for public universities by Ksh13 billion under the new funding model, according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Leading institutions like JKUAT, University of Nairobi and Egerton have been hardest hit, with sharp drops in government capitation between the 2023/2024 and 2025/2026 financial years. The data emerges four months before the September university intake.
KNBS data reveals steep cuts across major public universities. The University of Nairobi saw funding drop from Ksh2.44 billion in 2023/2024 to Ksh947.8 million in 2024/2025 and Ksh534.79 million in 2025/2026. JKUAT allocations fell from Ksh2.5 billion to Ksh474.83 million, while Egerton declined from Ksh1.73 billion to Ksh365.24 million.
Other institutions including Kenyatta University, Moi University and Maseno University experienced reductions from over Ksh1 billion to just above Ksh600 million. Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) dropped from Ksh1.06 billion to Ksh90.9 million, and Technical University of Kenya (TUK) from more than Ksh1.1 billion to Ksh172 million.
Government-sponsored student numbers declined at some universities, such as Nairobi's from 23,666 to 10,859 before rising to 19,114. At Masinde Muliro University, however, beneficiaries increased from 14,834 to 16,373 despite funding falling to Ksh550.79 million.
The figures come four months ahead of the September intake as 2025 KCSE candidates apply via KUCCPS. Only students placed in public universities qualify for government sponsorship, though all can access loans through the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).