President William Ruto suffered a major blow after the High Court declared the New University Funding Model unconstitutional.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, December 20, Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that the new funding model was discriminatory to students.
The judge opined that in the new funding model, the burden of funding the university and colleges had been passed to the parents.
Additionally, the judge noted that no public participation was conducted before the model was rolled out.
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"It should have been subjected to the public so that the public comments before its implementation," the judge ruled.
Justice Mwita issued the ruling following a petition that was filed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC).
In its petition, KHRC argued that the funding model would discriminate against students who have not attained the age of 18 years.
The commission also raised concerns over the various classifications/ bands used in determining the money to be allocated to students by the government.
"The petitioner further avers that the Funding Model discriminates against millions of students who are subjected to arbitrary classifications that are not based on merit or qualification, but on the financial ability of the students," read the statement in part.
"The petitioner avers that these classifications will lead to many deserving students being unable to apply for funding if they do not fit in the narrow categories that the new model sets out."
Notably, Ruto, in September 2024 had appointed a team of over 100 people to probe the new funding model after various stakeholders raised various reservations.
The team was to draft a report with recommendations in 8 weeks after engaging with various stakeholders.
