Re-Imagining University Financing in Kenya

Abstract

During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak in 2019, the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) conducted extensive research on the challenges of equitable access to higher education (HE) in Africa. The organisation also held numerous convenings, engaging higher education stakeholders including policymakers, university managers, researchers, and the media.

The research and stakeholder engagements aligned with findings from various scholars, highlighting university financing as one of the major challenges affecting equitable access to higher education across Africa.

Consequently, PASGR, in collaboration with key stakeholders, co-conceptualised and co-designed a new research project aimed at generating relevant evidence and stimulating policy dialogue around the newly adopted higher education financing model in Kenya. The objective was to identify effective, innovative, and sustainable practices to support continuous improvement as the model was being implemented, and to inform future policy and practice for enhanced equitable access to higher education.

The project leveraged PASGR’s Utafiti Sera (evidence-policy) approach, which brings together key stakeholders through a co-creation process. This approach ensured that implementers of the new financing model and other stakeholders were actively involved from the conceptualisation stage through to project implementation, thereby enhancing the relevance, contextual alignment, and impact of the project outcomes.