The Kenya Kwanza Government promised to establish a National Skill and Funding Council that amalgamates HELB, TVET and University Funding Board and increase funding to bridge the current 45 percent gap.
In December of 2022, the President reiterated the Kenya Kwanza Government’s promise to establish a National Skill and Funding Council to “…bridge the current higher education funding gap” and that the establishment of the council would immediately double the higher education funding from 11 billion to 22 billion Kenya Shillings.
On 10 February 2026, the Cabinet approved the proposed merger of HELB, the Universities Fund, the TVET Funding Board, and KUCCPS into a single authority, following the Presidential Working Party on Education Reform’s recommendations from 2023.
On August 6 2026, the National Assembly’s Education Committee concluded its consultative review of the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, with the Higher Education Principal Secretary briefing lawmakers on its provisions which include the consolidation of HELB, the Universities Fund, and the TVET Funding Board into a new Tertiary Education Funding Authority (TEFA).
