The National Association of Private Universities in Kenya (NAPUK) has said that the funding model for universities and TVETs announced by the government recently is discriminative to students in private universities.
Speaking during an interview on KBC tv, NAPUK Secretary General Dr. Vincent Gaitho said that the funding model will bar students in private universities from accessing government scholarships thus locking them out from seeking higher education.
“The President said that under the new model, every child will have equal opportunity. Equal opportunity should not be discriminative but open to all students. Equal opportunity means all student should be given an opportunity to choose where they want to seek their higher education,” he said.
“People should be given an opportunity to choose where they want to seek their higher education,” added Gaitho, who is also the Pro-Chancellor at Mount Kenya University (MKU).
He warned that there was a risk of locking people to a particular line of thinking and area of seeking higher education.
“Going forward, the private universities may be seen as pariahs, as unwanted, that they shall not be considered in placing students. We have no problem with that. Let students be given the opportunity to seek education in the institutions they feel will give them the opportunity to unlock themselves,” Dr. Gaitho said.
Dr. Mark Matunga, an educationist and technology evangelist, said the funding needs to be student-based and not university-centered, which will also give an opportunity even for private universities to create scholarships.
“Our money should fund an individual not a university. The challenge is for universities like Strathmore to look for scholarships for their students and former students,” said Matunga.
According to Dr Gaitho, before 2016, private universities never had any government-sponsored students. “Why did Government see it wise to make this move? These universities have invested in infrastructure, systems and people and it is even cheaper for the State to sponsor students in private colleges,” he added.
Previously, the private institutions used to market themselves to attract students. From 2016, the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) started placing students in private universities due to lack of capacity in public institutions.
Under the new model announced last week by President Ruto, the university and TVETs funding model aims at benefiting students from extremely poor backgrounds. The government will cater for education costs of vulnerable, less vulnerable and extremely needy students who comprise 29 percent of those joining universities and TVETs this year.
“For the first time, students whose families are at the bottom of the pyramid shall enjoy equal opportunity in accessing university and TVET education. Their households shall not make any contribution towards the education of their children,” Ruto said.
The President also announced an increase in university education funding to Ksh84.6 billion, up from Ksh54 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, a 56 per cent rise from current budget.
“Funding to students shall combine scholarships, loans and household contributions on a graduated scale, scientifically determined by means testing instrument,” the President said.
Ruto said going forward, the State would not fund students attending private universities. There are about 30 private universities in Kenya which work to enhance the provision of quality education in the country.
The aim is to support public institutions, whose pending bills have ballooned to Ksh60.2 billion due to unremitted statutory deductions, Sacco dues, pension, bank loans and unpaid contractors.
Dwindling State capitation while operating costs rose over the years have combined with falling student numbers to worsen the cash crunch. However, financial mismanagement and corruption have also played a role in crippling public universities.
By James Wakahiu
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