First-year students reporting to universities from today are being asked to pay up to Sh50,000 in fees to secure admission, even as the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) delays the release of funds to beneficiaries.

At the University of Nairobi (UoN), where students are scheduled to report today, several incoming students told Nation that mandatory fees demanded before registration range between Sh23,000 and Sh50,000.

The students said the online application portal required them to pay part of their fees upfront before they could proceed with the registration process.

University officials attributed the predicament to delays in disbursing loans and scholarships by Helb.

“I have paid Sh23,000 to the University of Nairobi as a registration fee because I was told to report on Monday. I am yet to get funding from Helb. We are just hoping for the best,” said a student admitted to the Education programme at UoN.

Another incoming Bachelor of Commerce student said the amount demanded exceeded Sh33,000.

“I am scheduled to report tomorrow. However, I have been asked to pay Sh23,256, yet the Helb support has not been disbursed. The hostel fee is Sh21,500 per year, which, when divided by two, is Sh10,750 per semester,” the student explained.

Parents expressed frustration at the unexpected financial burden, saying they had been forced to borrow from financial institutions to meet the upfront costs.

“This is not something we prepared for. I was slapped with a demand for Sh30,000 for my son, who is going to study Economics. I know others who have paid Sh50,000 for Medicine, Sh50,000 for Qualitative Survey and Sh48,000 for Actuarial Science,” said one parent.

Many had expected relief from the new government funding model, only to be confronted with the requirement for immediate payment.

“We were used to a situation where government-sponsored students only paid the balance after Helb settled the main fees. But now we are at a crossroads. I don’t know if my two sons will report to university. Life is becoming tough,” another parent said.

Those who managed to pay were allowed to proceed with the admission process.

“Once you pay, you can upload your academic documents and wait 48 hours for the portal to reopen, after which you are admitted,” said a parent.

The shift marks a departure from previous years when students were admitted first and allowed to clear their fees later, either in instalments or in full. The move is seen as part of universities’ attempts to maintain financial stability amid rising operational costs. The burden, however, has triggered widespread concern, particularly among families already struggling with the high cost of living.

When contacted, UoN Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr John Orindi, dismissed claims that the institution had imposed additional fees.

“We are using fee guidelines issued by the government. The parents are paying minimum fees as per their programmes,” he said.

But the Chairperson of the Public Universities Vice-Chancellors Committee, Prof Daniel Mugendi, said students should not be required to pay registration fees at all.

“It is in the portal. We had agreed that students should be admitted without any registration charges. Institutions were instructed to set their electronic result programmes (ERPs) at zero so that students can register without any initial payments,” he said. Prof Mugendi explained that Medicine remains the most expensive programme, with fees capped at Sh75,000 per semester.

“The fee structure for Medicine is about Sh259,000, with a minimum fee of Sh14,000 and a maximum of Sh75,000. Fees were reduced by different percentages,” he said.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba confirmed on Friday that, following recent government reductions, semester fees will now range between Sh5,814 and Sh75,000 depending on the programme.

Two weeks ago, Mr Ogamba announced that 201,695 first-year students, 257,523 continuing students and 237,000 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) trainees will benefit from the reduced fees this academic year.

He said the fee cuts—ranging between 15 per cent and 40 per cent—are intended to make higher education more affordable and sustainable. The reductions, effective from September 1, 2025, apply to both new and continuing students.

To support the changes, Helb’s budget has been increased from Sh36 billion to Sh41 billion, while the Universities Fund has been allocated Sh16.9 billion to provide scholarships to students in both universities and Tvet institutions.

Mr Ogamba said the resources will also help universities sustain operations and prepare for the first cohort of Basic Education Competency-Based Curriculum students, who are expected to join higher education institutions in 2029.