Let us scale up funding to boost varsity learning

Masinde Muliro University was the latest to be shut after students went on the rampage protesting fee increases. A few weeks ago, Kibabii University students also demonstrated over fee hikes they claim took them by surprise. Earlier, Laikipia University students were also sent home after similar protests. These incidents highlight fiscal management problems at our universities.PHOTO: COURTESY

Masinde Muliro University was the latest to be shut after students went on the rampage protesting fee increases. A few weeks ago, Kibabii University students also demonstrated over fee hikes they claim took them by surprise. Earlier, Laikipia University students were also sent home after similar protests. These incidents highlight fiscal management problems at our universities.

The adoption of ‘market-based policies’ in the 1990s saw the Government considerably scale down its funding of universities, leaving many of them in financial constraints yet they had to meet targets.

A consequence of this is that universities rely on tuition fees and commercial activities to generate revenue. As it is, without the Higher Education Loans Board coming through when students need financial support, most parents are not only burdened by paying tuition fees, they also pay accommodation fees, among many other charges.

Whenever universities feel the need to increase fees to meet day-to-day needs, they are bound to meet resistance. Student’s nerves are already frayed from making do with slim budgets and anything that touches on their raw nerves is good enough to start a demonstration.

This is a situation that can be avoided if the Government steps up funding for universities. Having put a freeze on the opening up of more universities, better structures should be put in place to financially support university education. It is gratifying that the Government has launched investigations into the financial accounts of some universities as the element of misuse cannot be discounted.

There is a claim Moi University cannot explain how Sh1 billion was used. More importantly, universities need to adopt a model that charges fee depending on the course one takes.

When a student taking a medicine or engineering course lasting six or seven years is charged the same as an Arts student whose course lasts three or four years, there is bound to be a funding gap, hence, a constant source of friction.