Kenyatta University employees are yet to receive their October salaries following the delayed release of funds, highlighting deepening cash flow challenges at the institution.
In an internal memo to the staff, the KU management has called for calm as the institution waits for the release of recurrent grants from the Ministry of Education to pay salaries and wages.
“In light of the above we request all staff to be patient as the University Management will release the October 2022 salaries immediately upon receipt of the capitation,” said KU acting deputy vice chancellor administration Prof Paul Okemo.
KU just like other public universities is grappling with revenue challenges due to the sharp decline in student enrollment for the parallel degree programme courses over the recent past that generated billions of shillings.
The institutions of higher learning are struggling to honour obligations such as payroll taxes, retirement benefits, and insurance premiums for employees.
Data from the Universities Fund (UF) shows pending bills for universities stood at Sh56.3 billion in the year to June which includes outstanding PAYE remittances of Sh13.7 billion, pension bill of Sh18.5 billion, cooperative or sacco contributions of Sh4.1 billion and Sh4.5 billion owed to part-time lecturers.
Lecturers at Egerton University have lamented salary arrears accrue due to a 40 percent pay cut effected at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Moi University in July announced that it will declare a number of its workforce redundant in a bid to reduce its wage bill and stay afloat.
The number of government-sponsored students has increased by 122,970 to 356,188 between 2019 and 2022 while the approved budget in the review period increased at a slower rate by Sh5.92 billion to Sh44.02 billion.
State funding to universities is based on the differentiated unit cost (DUC) model under which institutions get allocations based on the number of undergraduate students registered on the regular programme and the kinds of courses they take.
