{
  "id": 2417495,
  "title": "Universities Fund secures ISO 9001:2015 recertification amid rising student financing demand",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/universities-fund-secures-iso-9001-2015-recertification-amid-rising",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-21T18:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital FM Kenya",
    "slug": "capital-fm-kenya",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/universities-fund-secures-iso-90012015-recertification-amid-rising-student-financing-demand/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nairobi, Kenya – The Universities Fund has achieved ISO 9001:2015 recertification from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), a move that officials believe will be crucial as the organization expands its role in financing higher education. Acting CEO Dr Edwin Wanyonyi emphasized that this certification is more than an administrative milestone, representing a reaffirmation of the Fund's commitment to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement in managing university financing. He stated that the certification assures students, universities, the government, taxpayers, and development partners of the Fund's ability to handle its growing responsibilities through reliable systems. Wanyonyi highlighted that students must trust that their applications and funding are managed through transparent and dependable processes, while universities need predictable and accountable funding methods.\n\nThe Fund administers government scholarships under the Student-Centred Funding Model, prioritizing students with financial need as key determinants for scholarship support. With the number of students qualifying for university education rising from 246,391 in 2024 to 270,715 in 2025, due to the KCSE examination results, the Fund has faced increasing pressure to maintain efficient systems. Currently, the Fund reaches 408,879 public university students through scholarships annually, up from 118,153 in 2023/2024, 253,042 in 2024/2025, and projecting about 608,879 scholarship beneficiaries for the 2026/2027 financial year. The government has disbursed approximately KSh47.9 billion in scholarships to public university students from 2023/2024 to 2025/2026, with an additional KSh30.1 billion allocated for 2026/2027, totaling about KSh78 billion. The Fund disbursed its first KSh2.5 billion allocation to universities at the start of August, and an additional KSh19.96 billion to private universities under the Differentiated Unit Cost framework between 2016/2017 and 2025/2026, with KSh974 million disbursed in the current financial year as of August 21.\n\nTo enhance administrative efficiency, the Fund launched an Institutional Portal and an Online Donation Portal in October 2025. The Institutional Portal facilitates information exchange between universities and the Fund, enabling real-time tracking of disbursements and allocations, while the Online Donation Portal streamlines student data verification and processing. As of August 20, 2026, the Fund had received applications from 159,551 students for government scholarships, including 149,761 scholarship-and-loan combinations, 642 scholarship-only applications, and 9,148 loan-only applications. Another 5,732 applications were incomplete, urging affected students to finalize their applications by August 31. Universities Fund Board Chairperson Prof Karuti Kanyinga noted that the recertification demonstrates the Fund's capability to sustain and improve its quality management systems despite operating with a lean workforce. Kanyinga stressed that the Fund's effectiveness will be judged by the timeliness, accuracy, and responsiveness of its services, information, and responsiveness to students, universities, and stakeholders. He emphasized that the true test of this certification is whether the Fund can strengthen public confidence, particularly at a time of reducing fiscal space.\n\nKEBS Managing Director Esther Ngari congratulated the Universities Fund, acknowledging that the recertification reflects a sustained and improved quality management practice since obtaining its initial certification. Ngari described the Fund as a critical institution in Kenya's higher education sector, providing equitable, transparent, and sustainable financing for universities, directly impacting students, universities, policymakers, and other stakeholders. She challenged the Fund to pursue additional international management standards, particularly ISO/IEC 27001, to strengthen cybersecurity and safeguard sensitive student, financial, and university data. Ngari stressed that ISO certification should not be seen as the end of the quality journey.",
  "summary": "Wanyonyi said the certification provides assurance to students, universities, the Government, taxpayers and development partners that the Fund has systems capable of managing its growing responsibilities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}