MKU Foundation to launch ‘Dollar-for-Dollar’ benefactor programme

Mount Kenya University Foundation (MKUF) has announced plans to unveil a ‘dollar-for-dollar’ benefactor programme.

The programme will see the organization match every coin donated by benefactors by another coin. The money will go into its scholarship programme.

Acting Executive Director John W. Koigi says the ‘dollar-for-dollar’ programme is aimed at complementing the giving efforts by donors, and enhancing access to the higher education for the marginalized, bright Kenyans.

“In particular, the programme targets individual and group benefactors from abroad who have been making small donations to the Foundation and sponsoring individual students,” said Mr. Koigi.

Kenya has a large community abroad. There are an estimated 3 million Kenyans working and living overseas. According to International Organization for Migration, 157,000 are in the United States while 139,000 are in the UK. Other countries with a sizeable number of Kenyans are Canada, Australia, Germany, South Africa, Tanzania and Mozambique.

MKU & Equip Students

The programme will benefit students who undertake their studies at Mount Kenya University and Equip Africa Institute.

“Donors will receive all scholarship application and vetting reports, audited reports and study updates of the beneficiaries,” added the Director.  

In a bid to enhance higher education equity, MKU Foundation hosted a consultative forum on educational financing and scholarship in November, 2023. The forum, co-organized by the NGO Co-ordination Board, came in the light of the New Higher Education Funding Model (NHEF).

NHEF model was unveiled by President William Ruto on May 3, 2023, to address the challenge of higher student enrolment without concomitant increase in funding. It replaced the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) that was used to finance universities. The model puts emphasis on a student’s financial need, and combines scholarships, loans and household contributions.

US$10 bn COVID loss

But while NHEF has empowered the least fortunate in society, it caught most parents by surprise since they are expected to bear the full cost of their children’s tertiary education. The COVID-19 pandemic also threw provision of education funding in a spin with US$ 10 billion lost in education spending (UNICEF, 2020)

The estimates that between 2023 and 2030, the average annual financing gap amounts to a staggering

In low-and lower-middle-income countries, there is a $97 billion per year financing gap, says the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report, 2023. In over 50% of these countries, domestic public expenditure on education is below the recommended benchmark of 4% to 6% of GDP

“Moreover, international aid for education has stagnated since 2010 and needs to be aligned with the needs and priorities of the recipient countries,” notes Prof. Bitange Ndemo, Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium and European Union.

“Africa needs more and better financing for education from domestic and external sources. Domestic revenue mobilization is crucial, as it accounts for more than 80% of education financing in Africa,” adds Prof. Ndemo, a regular commentator on topical issues.