University of Nairobi must rethink its fees reviews

The University of Nairobi (UoN) has raised accommodation charges by up to seven times a semester, asking continuing students paying Sh3,150 to increase the figure to Sh21,525. Those in rooms shared by four will pay Sh15,120, up from Sh2,730.

Freshers reporting from today will pay Sh19,635 for a room shared by two per semester up from Sh2,835.

The UoN is taking this step in less than two months after it more than doubled fees for postgraduate courses and parallel degrees.

Undergraduate government-sponsored students will pay Sh59,000, up from Sh26,500. Self-sponsored undergraduates’ medical course will attract Sh640,000 from Sh445,000. Master’s degrees in courses like communication and business administration (MBA) will be charged at Sh680,000 from an average Sh275,000, rising by more than 100 percent.

While public universities across the country are in a financial crunch and owe billions of shillings in statutory deductions, we take this early opportunity to ask the management of the University of Nairobi to rethink review of fees by consulting widely before taking a decision.

One, the UoN is a public university and its core mandate is to grow education and not to make money. As a matter of fact, its operations should be supported by taxpayers, not the learners, the bulk of them from humble backgrounds.

Two, sustainability of the university hinges on offering top services, including research; and, the UoN has created an enterprise wing. This is how the university should grow revenues, instead of burdening learners with fees that will send thousands home.

Three, anyone raising university fees ought to remember that a number of learners depend on the Exchequer support through the Higher Education Loans Board that they literally depend on for paying tuition and accommodation charges.

How do you raise fees by up to seven times in one step? Is the university punishing the learners for challenges that are not their own making?

We encourage the UoN to consult widely to understand the impact of decisions they make about raising fees.

While it is true that some of the fees, including tuition and accommodation, are ripe for an upward review, going the commercialise way is highly discouraged and is unacceptable.