Varsities VCs protest course fee cuts as debts soar to Sh85 billion

Prof. Daniel Mugendi Njiru, VC of University of Embu and Chair of the VCs Committee, appears before the National Education Committee at Continental House, Nairobi, on June 10, 2024. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] Vice chancellors are quietly protesting the ministry's directive to reduce the cost of courses by nearly half. The university managers question the rationale of the review and caution that the move would hurt institutions already struggling with huge debts. The VCs also fault the government for not remitting Sh22 billion owed to universities under the new funding model for the last two years. The pending debt - Sh13 billion in loans and Sh9 billion in scholarships - has been owed to universities since the first cohort was admitted under the contested new funding plan. This now adds to the Sh85 billion already owed to public universities, further straining the institutions' survival and operations. So far, two cohorts of students are funded under the new model - currently in their second and third years of study - and the institutions will this September invite the third cohort. Even though the vice chancellors' committee chairperson, Prof Daniel Mugendi, who is also the Embu University VC, said he attended the review meetings, VCs who spoke to The Standard said they were not involved. "On what basis were decisions made to reduce or standardise tuition fees across tertiary institutions? What empirical studies or stakeholder consultations informed this decision?" a VC of a senior public university said. The Standard has now established that VCs of public universities, in hushed tones, are raising questions over the cost reduction, claiming they were not involved in the review plans. Beatrice Inyangala, the Higher Education Principal Secretary (PS), last week announced a 15 to 40 per cent cut in university fees. She said the reduction would apply to both continuing and new students. In a separate statement, Ogamba directed universities to update the new fees on the student portal. "Consequently, all public universities and constituent colleges are hereby directed to update their admissions and finance portals to reflect the revised fees," the statement reads. On Monday, Ogamba said the new fees would take effect on 15 August. Mugendi, who chairs the VCs' committee, said the reduction was informed by a review of the initial assessment done by universities on the cost of university programmes. He explained that in the early assessment, universities overreached in estimates required to teach each course. Mugendi said programme costs and fees were adjusted to reflect the actual reality of universities in the country. "You'll find in the earlier costing of programmes, the universities were working with a class average of about eight learners for medicine courses, for example, but when we sat down and reviewed it, we found that an average med class would have about 12 students, so we adjusted that, and that is what pulled the cost down from Sh612,000 to about Sh450,000," Mugendi told The Standard. But individual VCs who spoke to The Standard said they were not consulted and accused PS Inyangala of high-handedness and not being consultative. "Ask the PS, what role did vice chancellors of public universities play in shaping the new funding framework, including fee adjustments and income-based student categorisation? Also ask her whether vice chancellors were consulted before implementing the new standard tuition fees across institutions?" another VC said. The VC said that their views did not form part of the submissions. Another VC questioned how the reduced tuition fees would impact the financial sustainability of public universities, particularly those already operating under budget constraints. "What support mechanisms, such as compensatory government grants, are in place for institutions that may experience revenue shortfalls due to these reductions?" the VC said. The Education Ministry is yet to explain how the fee cut will be implemented, who qualifies, or what funding model universities should use in the meantime. And now, disquiet is brewing among parents and university heads over the fees students will pay after the decision to slash university fees that was set two years ago. With just three weeks before universities open, VCs say they are yet to get clear direction from the Ministry of Education on who benefits from the fee reduction. In the circular dated 30 July 2015, PS Inyangala did not clarify the cost of each programme payable by parents who are not interested in loans and scholarships. "Ask the PS one simple question: how much will parents who do not want loans pay for each of the courses? It is not clear. And so Kenyans must know how much each programme costs," said another VC. "Actually, after that, Kenyans will also be able to know what percentage of that is being waived by the government. As it is now, we only know of household contribution in terms of fees." Universities are expecting first-year students to report starting 25 August, but they are yet to issue updated fee structures to parents. In her circular, PS Inyangala directed universities to update their data. "All public universities are further directed to update their admissions and finance portals to reflect the revised fees of academic programmes," the PS said. But some VCs said the instructions were vague. In her circular, PS Inyangala said: "Public universities are notified that the entire cost of programmes will continue to be met through a combination of tuition fees, scholarships and loans based on the needs of individual students." But students who are not receiving government scholarships still have no idea how much they'll be charged. Data from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) shows that in the two years the new funding model has been operational, over 34,000 students have snubbed government assistance to pay fees; instead, they chose to pay their fees in full. "We have students who chose not to apply for university funding at all, so their parents pay the full fees. So how much are they supposed to pay if the government is yet to provide the full programme cost?" another VC questioned. University heads also say they have not received formal instructions from the government, further fuelling confusion. Parents are, however, concerned that without clear guidance, some institutions may revert to older, higher fees - saddling parents with unexpected costs. "My daughter was admitted to Kenyatta University for nursing, and the programme was listed as costing Sh480,000 per year," one parent told The Standard. "We've received no update, and she's supposed to report on 25 August." The government's silence is now triggering panic among families trying to budget for school. University vice chancellors also claim to have been caught off guard and fear a chaotic intake season. They also question who will meet the shortfall that will arise from the fee reduction. "How does the Ministry plan to harmonise institutional autonomy with centrally determined tuition fees and funding models?"

Varsities VCs protest course fee cuts as debts soar to Sh85 billion

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