The High Court has declared the new university funding model as illegal and unconstitutional. 

Justice Chacha Mwita on Friday, December 20, ruled that the fund introduced in May last year is unlawful due to its lack of legal foundation, discriminatory nature, and failure to involve public participation.

"It should have been subjected to the public so that the public comments before it's implementation," justice Mwita noted.

According to the judge, the changes that are the flagship of President William Ruto did not adhere to the necessary legal provisions when creating the model.

As a result, Mwita directed the Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos, the Attorney General, the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), the Trustees of the Universities Fund Kenya, and the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCPS) not to implement the model.

Mwita made the directions in the case filed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) last year.

The Higher Education Funding Model according to the government was intended at addressing financial challenges in public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.

The model shifts from the previous Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) system, which provided block funding to institutions, to a student-centered approach that allocates financial support based on individual student needs.

In its court filing, KHRC asserted that the model was unconstitutional since it failed to cater to needy students.

The petitioners mentioned that the new model created confusion in selecting TVET courses as students face delays due to a lack of clear instructions from KUCCPS. 

"The variable scholarship and loan funding model is arbitrary, obscure, expensive, undefined, and illegal; an affront to the right to education as part of economic social rights," part of the petition by the KHRC read.

Judge Mwita condemned the government's move to shift the responsibility to parents, saying that it's the government's responsibility to fund public universities. The judge added that passing the responsibility to parents was a violation of the Constitution, adding the legitimate anticipation was infringed.

The implementation of the funding model caused university students to protest, with most of them rejecting it. The model had led to some students missing spots in university over lack of funding.