Thousands go without scholarships amid TVET funding shortfall

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

Four in five TVET trainees targeted for scholarships missed out last year as funding lagged enrolment.

Parliament data shows the State Department for TVET targeted 440,826 trainees but funded only 89,054, barely one in five.

The department funded them after receiving an additional Sh1 billion through the supplementary budget. It required Sh8.72 billion but received Sh3.5 billion, leaving a Sh5.2 billion deficit.

The shortfall has left thousands struggling to clear fees, with some dropping out and others relying on MPs and well-wishers.

“We have been very intentional in bringing these young people to our institutions but the Exchequer is our biggest undoing,” TVET principal secretary Esther Muoria told the National Assembly Education Committee during a 2025/26 budget meeting.

The State Department says the funding gap has persisted since the Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM) was introduced in 2023, with allocations falling short of scholarship needs.

Under the model, scholarships and loans are apportioned according to students’ assessed financial need, while institutions receive funding through the Variable Scholarship and Loan Funding (VSLF) approach, replacing the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model. University scholarships are handled by the Universities Fund (UF), while TVET scholarships are administered by the State Department.

In 2023/24, the department, which oversees 33 national polytechnics and 213 technical and vocational colleges, required Sh4.8 billion but received Sh1.95 billion, leaving a Sh2.89 billion deficit.

The requirement rose to Sh9.35 billion in 2024/25, but the government provided Sh2.5 billion, leaving a Sh6.85 billion shortfall.

In 2025/26, the department required Sh8.72 billion but received Sh3.5 billion, leaving a Sh5.2 billion deficit. The three-year cumulative shortfall was Sh14.97 billion.

The figures highlight the widening gap between TVET expansion and resources for trainees. “We have almost Sh15 billion that has not been expended from our budget from the financial year 2023/2024 and that also explains some debts in our institutions,” said the PS.

The funding challenge comes as the government promotes TVET as a driver of economic growth and a BETA pillar.

Nearly 9,000 students who qualified for university admission in the 2025 KCSE opted for TVET courses this year.

Enrolment has grown through college expansion, marketing and rollout of Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET), but funding has not kept pace.

The gap has increased reliance on politicians and well-wishers to keep students in class.

Education Committee chairman Julius Melly said TVET should not be taken for granted, given the government’s focus on youth skills.

“As a committee we shall invite the Cabinet Secretary for Finance to appear before us so that we can find a solution to the scholarship crisis,” he said.

The Student-Centred Funding Model (SCFM), introduced by President William Ruto in May 2023, sought to address financing challenges in public universities and TVET colleges.

For TVET trainees, however, inadequate allocations have limited its effectiveness, leaving continuing trainees dependent on support to complete programmes.

Scholarships are administered by the State Department for TVET in collaboration with the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), which hosts the Higher Education Financing (HEF) platform.

The department says accumulated funding gaps have affected continuing trainees who need support to complete their programmes.

The mismatch between enrolment and funding particularly threatens trainees from poor and vulnerable households.

Students unable to raise outstanding fees risk dropping out before acquiring the skills they were encouraged to pursue.

There is some relief this financial year, with the department reporting its Sh8.32 billion scholarship requirement has been met with an allocation of Sh9.2 billion.

Reporting originally appeared via Nation Africa. Read the full source for additional context.