State allocations for government-sponsored students in public universities have marginally increased to Sh43.84 billion in the year to June 2021 from Sh38.14 billion four years ago.
The result of this is that universities have to either streamline operations, reduce courses or close down campuses.
The UoN has increased tuition fees for postgraduate and self-sponsored students by up to 147 percent, a move that has left students, especially those from needy households worried.
Edward Sirma, a fifth-year veterinary medicine student at the University of Nairobi (UoN), has for the past three years seen his studies interrupted due to funding delays from the State for his tuition fees.
He now expresses fears that he might not graduate on time, a fate that has befallen many students in public universities.
While Sirma has opted not to defer his studies amid the funding hitches, he has seen many colleagues take time off school to raise tuition fees privately before returning later to complete their degree programmes.
“Our allocation was reduced and sometimes it delays, and that is where the problem lies for most of us. Things are not easy, but it is hard for us students sponsored by the government to opt to drop out because the opportunity might not come again,” he says.
Sirma is one of the thousands of government-sponsored students who are now feeling the effect of falling capitation to universities in the wake of budgetary cuts by the Treasury.
Data from the University Funding (UF) shows that capitation per student has dropped by more than Sh40,000 and Sh35,000 for private and public universities respectively in the last four years.
The Treasury has for the past four years failed to match the pool of funds available for the universities to the growth in the number of government-sponsored students joining universities, and therefore per capita allocation has dropped.
Student protests
State allocations for government-sponsored students in public universities have marginally increased to Sh43.84 billion in the year to June 2021 from Sh38.14 billion four years ago, while that for their private counterparts increased to Sh3.17 billion from Sh1.57 billion in the period.
The increments do not, however, match the rise in the number of State-sponsored students enrolled in public universities, which rose 39 percent to 324,182 in the four years while those joining private institutions of higher learning jumped 323 percent to 78,650.
The result of this is that universities have to either streamline operations, reduce courses or close down campuses.
Some have also taken the option of raising fees, sparking student protests.
The UoN has increased tuition fees for postgraduate and self-sponsored students by up to 147 percent, a move that has left students, especially those from needy households worried.
Undergraduate government-sponsored students pursuing the medical course after joining in September now pay Sh59,000, up from Sh26,500, a 123 percent increase.
Master’s degree students in courses like communications and business administration are paying Sh680,000 for a two-year programme from an average of Sh275,000 previously, an increase of 147 percent.
The fees for degree courses in commerce, economics, and law under the parallel degree programme were been increased by up to 70 percent to about Sh1 million for the four years.
UoN has also increased accommodation fees by up to seven times per semester, piling pressure on students already slapped with a sharp rise in tuition fees.
Students in single rooms, mostly those in third and final years are paying Sh21,525 per semester up from Sh3,150, while those in rooms shared by four are parting with Sh15,120, up from Sh2,730.
New students who joined in September pay Sh19,635 for a room shared by two students per semester up from the Sh2,835 that UoN had been charging previously at its main campus.
Private universities are also increasing tuition fees for government-sponsored students.
In August, lawmakers petitioned the National Assembly’s Committee on Education to inquire into claims that the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nazarene University, St Paul’s University, Kenya Methodist and KCA University have increased tuition fees by up to Sh20,000.
The committee now says the Ministry of Education and universities should initiate a national conversation to increase the tuition fees.
“The Ministry of Education should explore ways of having a national conversation (public conversation) on reviewing upwards the fees paid by university students,” the committee said when it directed the Universities Fund to draft a new funding formula.
The reality, however, is that universities have very little room for financial manoeuvre, given that they are wallowing in debt. The funding gap means that the hole is getting deeper each passing year.
Their problems have been compounded by a sharp drop in the number of students qualifying for university admission, following a tightening of supervision of the form four examinations.
Due to lower numbers achieving the required c-plus grade, the number of self-sponsored students has dropped, denying the universities of much-needed revenue.
Private universities
Universities had taken up large amounts of debt to fund the opening of new campuses targeting these self-sponsored students, installations that are now largely cash drains, which they have been rushing to close down.
Public and private universities also introduced similar courses to gain a larger share of State funds after the introduction of a centralised placement system in 2016, allowing admission of government-sponsored students to private universities.
This has led to a lower number of students enrolling in courses in any given institution and with that, a fall in State capitation to the universities.
Students are also now choosing to join technical and vocational education and training institutions (TVETs), which charge lower rates and offer in-demand technical courses.
Kenya has 102 public universities and campuses — which posted a deficit of Sh6.2 billion in the year to June and received nearly Sh70 billion from the Treasury to run their operations.
The country has 19 chartered private universities and four constituent colleges.
The UF — which guides the allocation of State funds to public universities — has sounded the alarm over the continued decline in student capitation.
“Financing for higher education in Kenya has been inadequate and lacked effective coordination mechanisms, especially in the face of competing demands for the limited national budget,” Universities Fund chief executive Geoffrey Monari said.
Allocation of student funds has for the past four years been based on the number of students and the cost of courses at the universities.
The criteria dubbed Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) has, however, been blamed for the current funding gaps that have forced public and private universities to raise tuition and accommodation fees amid public outcry.
The Universities Fund data shows that the public and private universities funding gap in the four years stands at Sh92.73 billion in the year to June.
Public universities have taken the biggest hit from the deficit accounting for 73 percent or Sh68.35 billion while the gap for that of private varsities is Sh24.38 billion.
The public universities have outstanding remittances to the Kenya Revenue Authority, the National Hospital Insurance Fund, the National Social Security Fund, pension schemes, insurance companies and co-operative societies.
Jobs race
The debt hit Sh60 billion in the year ended June, prompting calls from the State agency for emergency measures from the State to prevent further increase.
The UF says the current formula is silent on the funding needs of students from disadvantaged families and communities — learners who need more cash to help them realise the dream of that university degree.
The agency has now drafted a formula based on five performance indicators, including absorption of an institution’s graduates in the job market, research and training in financial management for top officials.
“The DUC formula does not recognise the small and upcoming universities, which have a smaller population of students and less diverse degrees to offer,” the National Assembly Committee on Education said when it directed the State agency to review the current formula.
The UF has drafted a new performance-based funding formula that it says is borrowed on global best practices.
The new formula, which is currently before the Treasury for consideration, will see cash disbursement for student capitation based on five performance indicators, including graduates’ absorption in the job market, research and training on financial management for top officials.
