By Roy Hezron
University Education and Research Principal Secretary Amb. Simon Nabukwesi has urged universities to be innovative in addressing finacial challenges facing them.
Addressing the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology 36th graduation ceremony on April 9, 2021 virtually, Nabukwesi said that despite the government remaining steadfast in funding universities, the programme may not be remain suitable in the long run and expressed concern of financial instabilities faced by public universities.
“While the Government has remained steadfast in funding Institutions of Higher Learning, this has lately been complicated by the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on various economic sectors,” said Nabukwesi.
He added that “The net effect of this is that funding may not remain sustainable in the long run. Public Universities are experiencing financial instability to the extent of failing to meet their financial obligations. Many have debts with Kenya Revenue Authority for failing to remit statutory deductions. This is a worrying situation.”
Nabukwesi revealed that stakeholders have dropped many proposals on how to deal with the crisis which include a think tank of experts to undertake the assignment within a given timeframe.
“I therefore call upon our Universities to redouble their efforts to generate supplementary income to address resource scarcity. He urged researchers in the institutions to embrace inter-disciplinary collaborative approaches, especially with industry, to attract funding.
A number of proposals have been fronted by legislators through the national assembly education and reserch committee under the leadership of Busia Women Representative Florence Mutua to save the universities from the finacial crisis, key among them urging the government to stop establishment of new universities, colleges or campuses for the next five years to allow the government focus on developing and funding existing institutions, a measure which will also see some non-viable campuses merged and some programmes scrapped.
Because of budgetary constraints, capitation to public universities as a percentage of total revenue has dropped from 62.4 per cent in 2012-13 to 44.9 per cent in 2015-16, while the contribution of capitation to expenditure of public universities declined from 67.4 per cent in 2012 to 45.4 per cent in 2018.
Presently, all government-sponsored students are funded at a flat rate of Sh120,000 per year based on a formula developed in 1989, of which Sh86,000 is tuition fees while Sh34,000 caters for students personal expenses, including accommodation, food and books.
During the event, over 4,000 students at the university graduated in a virtual ceremony. The 4,332 graduands at the 36th graduation ceremony were awarded 28 doctorates, and 316 master’s and 3,986 bachelor’s degrees.
