Kenya's higher education system is set for a major overhaul, with the government proposing to merge the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the Universities Fund, and the TVET Fund into a single agency, the Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA).

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The changes proposed in the Tertiary Placement and Funding Bill 2026, currently before parliament, will overhaul funding for the Kenyan education sector, aiming to make higher education more affordable and accessible to all.

According to the bill seen by this publication, TEFA will become the central body responsible for financing students in public universities, colleges, and TVET institutions.

TEFA, the government argues, will create a unified and more sustainable system for supporting learners in tertiary institutions.

📌 What You Need to Know

It will also replace the current approach, where different agencies oversee various aspects of higher education financing.

Under the proposed model, the authority will take over key functions currently handled by HELB , including student financing and loan recovery.

It will also manage funding previously administered through the Universities Fund and the TVET Fund Board.

The bill proposes a shift from the current income-based funding model introduced in 2023 to a universal funding approach, where eligible students admitted to public tertiary institutions would receive full government support.

The announcement was made by President William Ruto on Tuesday, July 21, with the President pledging the government's full funding for students from September 2026 .

"Going forward, any student, so long as they have passed their examinations and they have been placed in a college or university, will get full funding for their higher education. It will be the choice for parents if they want to pay," Ruto said.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke