The new universities and Technical and Vocational Training Institutions (TVETs) funding model has opened the possibilities for a new era in the management of higher education in Kenya. First, the model incorporates elements of funding students placed in national polytechnics and TVET institutions. This will increase the number of students joining TVETs, which are at the core of industrialization and manufacturing sectors of the economy. Secondly, the model opens room for openness, accountability and competition as evidenced by the move by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) request to universities and TVETs to declare the costs of their various courses and programmes. This leads to more innovation, introduction of market led initiatives for change, operationalization of New Public Management (NPM) or re-invention of government and also neo-liberalization in service delivery. The new model opens room for competition where all universities will compete in order to get s share of the funds. They will have to improve their libraries, laboratories, accommodation, teaching and other services in order to remain competitive. Smaller and upcoming universities like Tharaka University can use such opportunity to attract more students and hence provide the basis for rapid growth.
Universities globally are competing because they are battling three issues – first, the quality of the education and research that they offer and drive. In fulfilling quality, universities need to understand the nature of academic competition, which will make them to sharpen their strategies and help them highlight and focus on what is important. They need to address their national and international rankings be it in the Performance Contracting or other recognized rankings. These provide vital information to the students and universities themselves, and it may determine financial allocations in some cases. Secondly, their place in national and international markets, and this answers the ongoing debates on how many universities do we need in Kenya. Universities must therefore seek to curb their own niches and concentrate on areas that give them competitive advantage and edge over others. Thirdly, their image locally and internationally. Universities must strive to be seen as the centres of solutions, innovations and accelerators of rapid progress through linking research and development and national and international developments
Competition will make institutions of higher learning to always be on their toes, force them to think about ways of embracing new ideas, pay attention to quality teaching and research, measure what they do and benchmark against their peers Dr. Mutegi Giti, Urban Management specialist, mutegigiti@gmail.com, @danielgiti.
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 
The opportunities in the funding model has aunthetically opened and paved way for development of both the TVETs And universities in terms of research,innovations and quality of education which leads to a remedy in eradicating the inept levels.There is too an added advantage to vulnerable and marginalised communities who will get 100% funding
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