KCA University Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Isaiah Wakindiki has welcomed the move to end funding for private university students by the government, saying the programme has burdened them with huge debts.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Prof Wakindiki who spoke at the university’s main campus in Ruaraka, Nairobi, said the stoppage of funding was a blessing to the institution as they do not have to wait for money that was not forthcoming.
“The Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Services (KUCCPS) would place like 1,000 students and the funding board would promise to fund 80 per cent of their fees. The board will pay in bits and before the year ends, you find a lot of the funds remain undisbursed to the universities,” Prof Wakindiki said.
Disclosing that the government owes the university Ksh2.1 billion, he said they have never received any feedback on the demand-for-payment letters they have sent.
“We thank whoever came up with that policy. There was a cohort here that was really a bother. At least if you are admitted at a private university, we are sure you have to foot your fees. In fact, at the moment, we are doing well and are planning to expand our infrastructure due to the rising demand,” he said.
The government has for the last eight years, since the 2016-2017 Financial Year, been placing government-sponsored students to private universities in order to deal with congestion in public universities.
This went on until early last year when KUCCPS announced that public universities have the capacity to admit all students who qualify for admission. It is then that the government said it would no longer fund students in private universities.
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By Kamau Njoroge
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