The Universities Fund has announced the opening of scholarship applications for continuing university students.
In a notice on Wednesday, June 3, the Fund said the applications are open for students joining second, third, and fourth years during the 2026/2027 academic year.
The applications target eligible students under the Student-Centred Funding Model, with the Fund urging beneficiaries to apply through its mobile application platform.
"The Universities Fund Subsequent Scholarship Application is now open for continuing university students joining 2nd, 3rd and 4th year in the 2026/2027 academic year under the Student-Centred Funding Model," the notice read.
Students seeking to apply have been directed to use the mobile USSD platform, *642#, to complete the process.
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This comes a day after the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has announced the opening of the 2026/2027 Subsequent Loan Application window for continuing students.
In a notice issued on Monday, June 1, HELB said eligible continuing students can now submit their loan applications for the upcoming academic year.
The board urged students to apply early to allow sufficient time for processing and disbursement of funds before the commencement of studies.
"The HELB Subsequent Loan Application for 2026/2027 is officially open from 1st June 2026. All Continuing students can now apply via USSD *642#," the notice read in part.
Prior to that, the Universities Fund had responded to claims that the government has withdrawn financial support for students enrolled in private universities.
In a statement on Thursday, April 17, the fund noted that students who were already benefiting from earlier arrangements will not be abruptly cut off, even as new funding guidelines take effect.
"Private university students who were funded under the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) as Government Sponsored Students will continue to receive government scholarships until completion of their studies," the statement read.
Explaining the structure of the revised system, the fund noted that government support is now split between scholarships and loans, depending on the type of institution a student attends.
Under this framework, those placed in public universities benefit from a dual support system involving both grants and credit facilities.
However, students admitted to private universities are eligible for financial assistance exclusively through loans issued by the Higher Education Loans Board, without access to direct government scholarships.
"Under the Student-Centred Funding Model, the government is funding university students through scholarships and loans.
"Students placed in public universities receive scholarships from the Universities Fund and loans from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB)," the statement added.
