With the rising cost of living and recent changes in the education model, many university students in Kenya face significant financial barriers in their quest for higher education.
Sarah Awuor, an 18-year-old who recently joined Kenyatta University to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Special Needs Education, is one such student.
Due to her family’s inability to raise the required Ksh 48,960 for her first-semester fees, Awuor finds herself on the verge of dropping out and returning to her family’s home in Mathare slum.
Placed in Band 5 under the government’s new funding model, Awuor’s education costs total Ksh 97,920 annually.
This categorization assumes that students in Band 5, often from higher-income families, require only a 30 percent scholarship and a 30 percent loan to cover fees.
For Awuor, however, this model has been a mismatch; her family struggles to raise even the first-semester fees, making it increasingly difficult for her to continue her studies.
“I think I will just drop out because there is no point in staying here if I cannot pay the fees,” Awuor said, explaining that she has struggled with hunger and the psychological toll of her uncertain financial situation.
“I can’t concentrate in class. Sometimes, I go without food,” she admitted, further sharing that she feels compelled to return to Mathare, the community where she was raised.
Her father, a local artisan in the Jua Kali sector, and her unemployed mother are unable to meet the steep costs of her education.
Awuor’s siblings, who are in secondary school, also rely on a scholarship program associated with a Mathare-based basketball academy that funded Awuor’s own high school education.
Yet, her family’s financial difficulties persist, making it impossible for her father to meet the looming payment deadline for her university fees.
Awuor initially appealed her placement in Band 5, hoping to be moved to Band 1, a category that would make her eligible for greater financial support.
However, her appeal only resulted in a placement in Band 3, which still leaves her with unaffordable costs.
“Band 1 would have been the best option for me, but that hasn’t happened,” she noted.
