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Layoffs and fee hikes looms in new efforts to stabilise universities

JKUAT PhD graduates during the 38th virtual graduation ceremony on June 28, 2022.  [David Gichuru, Standard]

A fresh round of university staff layoffs looms as the National Treasury issued fresh directives to enhance the viability of institutions of higher learning.

At the same time, parents may be forced to pay higher university fees as the government proposes a review of the tuition money.

Universities’ push to have fees rise to Sh48,000 has faced major resistance from stakeholders with the proposal pushed back each time it is fronted by vice-chancellors.

The government has now put fees raise among a raft of measures to cushion universities.

Details are contained in a fresh pitch for university mergers, revision of funding formula and disposing off of redundant assets among other measures to enable the institutions manage their bills.

The revelations are contained in a letter by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani to Prof George Magoha of Education.

In the letter dated May 17, Yatani spells out seven key measures that he says will go a long way in addressing the funding headache of the institutions of higher learning.

Yatani now wants fresh rationalisation of universities staff especially the non-teaching ones.

In the letter, Yatani wants Magoha to convene an urgent sector stakeholder meeting to deliberate the proposals that would address the finding issues of the universities.

“In view of this you are advised to convene a meeting to bring together the ministry of education Universities and University college leadership to further discuss this matter and come up to workable recommendations,” Yatani said.

The letter to Magoha was a response to another letter that had requested for additional funding for public and private universities.

However, The National Treasury declined the request to extend additional funding to universities; and instead suggested cost saving options that could see lay off of university staff, and fee hikes in new efforts to salvage broke public universities.

In the letter, the Exchequer declines the request placed on March 7 and another by the University of Nairobi on April 13 seeking an additional funding of Sh607.8 million and Sh13.26 billion respectively.

The money was sought to cater for outstanding capitation for government sponsored students at Uzima University and settle the outstanding statutory payment for the University of Nairobi.

“The National Treasury has brought to the attention of the Ministry of Education that we are not able to provide the requested additional funding, owed to the tight fiscal framework underpinning the implementation of the budget,” the letter reads.

The letter is dated May 17 and is addressed to Magoha by his Treasury counterpart Yatani; and copied to the University Education Principal Secretary Simon Nabukwesi.

The Treasury letter also called on the policy of placing students in private universities; this could see private university lose out on placement of State-sponsored student a policy adopted in 2017.

The purse keeper also calls for closing, and merging of some satellite campuses, and selling redundant assets.

Other recommendations include investing in income-generating activities and review on the Differentiated Unit Cost — the model used to fund state-sponsored students in public and private universities.

The recommendations are not new; in fact they were first fronted by the Education CS in 2018, and remain contentious among various stakeholders.

Magoha, then, had termed the reforms as a solution to the recurring financial struggle in public institutions; however, little has been done four years down the line.

The renewal to implement them is expected to inflame tension among the university fraternity who will be hit by the ripple effects of the reforms.

The letter notes that the reforms will provide and one-off solution to the existing problems in universities; and calls on the Education Ministry to convene a meeting with university heads and fasten the policy formulation.

Since the initial proposal in 2018, efforts to implement them have been met with equal rebellion from all quarters including teaching and non-teaching staff who fight the calls for lay off;

And students who are on the chopping board with the calls to increase the amount of fees paid.

The amount remains Sh16,000 and was set in 1989 but the university heads have been calling on tripling the amount to Sh48,000.