Tough times for public varsities as State fails to allocate funds

The main entrance to Kenyatta University. [Samson Wire, Standard] Public universities are staring at another tough year as the Government fails to allocate Sh74 billion to stabilise the institutions. A number of universities are already reeling under huge debt that has hurt their operations. Universities Fund Board CEO Geoffrey Monari, said that the allocation continue declining with an increased number of government-sponsored students affecting operations and academic programmes. "For five years, the funding deficit in public universities stands at Sh96.3 billion while that of private ones is Sh24.4 billion. It has gone down from an average of Sh84,217 at 44.86 per cent of the DUC to Sh40,366 at 21.94 per cent," he noted. Documents tabled in Parliament by University Education PS Simon Nabukwesi showed that of the Sh167.8 billion requested, only Sh72.3 billion was allocated. The crisis in universities was precipitated last year by huge funding gaps of about Sh54 billion. "The pending bills as of June 30, 2021, are Sh42.3 billion. However, since then, the bills have been accumulating on a monthly basis," said Nabukwesi. On research and innovation, Nabukwesi said only Sh920 million has been allocated against the request of Sh2.6 billion. Monari further said, with an addition of 123,963 students under the government-sponsorship programme, UF is unable to finance the required 80 per cent. "We don't have enough money to fund the students at 80 per cent of DUC. There is a deficit of Sh20.1 billion for the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination cohort. It is a very difficult task for us and the universities," said Monari. He said with 356,188 students in this financial year only Sh44 billion is available translating to Sh123,597 per student. Monari said funding has been reduced from 66.4 per cent in 2018, to 60.7 in 2019 and 53.77 per cent in 2020. Deficit In the 2021-22 financial year, universities required Sh149 billion, but were only allocated Sh95 billion which included Sh4.3 billion meant for infrastructure funds. In 2022-23, the gap widened to Sh74 billion, signaling tough times for the institutions of higher learning. He noted that beside the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) demand to fund 80 per cent of a student's tuition fee, only 53.7 per cent were funded. ''In the 2021/22 year, we funded 324,182 students with a budget of Sh43.8 billion. The average funding per learner fell from the average grant per a student from Sh154, 385 to Sh135, 244. This created a deficit of Sh27 billion owed to universities this year in addition to the Sh20 billion accrued in the previous year,'' said Monari. He said the measures put up by the Government are just short-term remedies. ''We have requested universities to re-strategise in terms of staffing and working within their budgets. There is also the issue of capital development funds, which we advise universities to utilize instead of putting up new buildings,'' said Monari. Concern has been growing that incomplete projects in public universities, which by 2020 stood at Sh52.8 billion attracting penalties. He noted that the government intends to spend Sh47.3 billion on universities in the 2022/23 fiscal year of which Sh44 billion will go to Public universities. In the 2020/21 financial year, the fund received Sh41.9 billion for 271,446 students with 2021/22 year getting 324,182 students with a budget of Sh43.8 billion. University of Nairobi vice-chancellor, Prof Stephen Kiama urged the government to treat institutions as per the financial burden. "The implementation of the model resulted in reduction of government capitation in large universities, causing a huge payroll gap. I implore the government to review the universities' funding model with a view to capturing the uniqueness of each university," said Kiama. He noted that the University of Nairobi is running one of the biggest deficits among universities in the country and has been unable to meet pension and other statutory deductions for its workers. "Our staff comprises very senior and seasoned professors who have to be remunerated as advised by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, the government agency which determines pay for government officers," said Kiama. Monari said with the Government funding decline, the universities are required to be creative enough to bridge the financial burden. ''The institutions will have to look for more money to bridge the gap. We at the UF are scratching our heads together with the National Treasury to see how to increase the funding in the supplementary budget.'' Kiama advised universities to support systems through a number of reforms to minimise financial utility and increase the value proposition. "We have to invest in intangible assets that have a huge potential for revenue growth. This should allow us some small but growing headroom to start discharging our current liabilities," he said. He said the universities depended on Module II students to bridge the gap but since the Government lowered the cut-off point, it has crippled their operations. "The lucrative degree programme was curtailed when the Government dropped the university entry grade from a B to a C+ for State-funded students three years ago," he said.

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