Public universities are facing a financial crisis, teetering on the edge of collapse under a staggering Sh72.2 billion debt.
The University of Nairobi has a huge amount totalling Sh13.2 billion, followed by the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), which has Sh11.1 billion.
Kenyatta University has Sh10.6 billion, Egerton University has Sh10.1 billion, and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has Sh9.13 billion.
These debts stem from unremitted statutory deductions, unpaid contractor fees, pension arrears, and years of pending bills, paralysing routine operations and triggering near-constant industrial action. It also emerged that the budget cut will hit institutions of higher learning the hard way.
The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) is feeling pressured by a Sh36.6 billion funding deficit for loans and an additional operational deficit of Sh1.4 billion. The details emerged on Wednesday when Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok appeared before the National Assembly Education Committee.
Bitok, who represented the sector before the Committee, said students joining universities over the next three years need Sh43.68 billion in funding, yet the government only allocated Sh16.9 billion.
“The funding gap analysis shows that over 468,237 students are at risk of not receiving financial support through loans,” Bitok warned. He further emphasised that most of these students come from low-income households and are to benefit from the government’s new equity-based funding model.
“We are here to plead with you to assist in getting the funds. If you see these deficits, they affect the operations of HELB and these other agencies. If we can get the required resources, students will get loans in time,” Bitok said.
The Technical University of Kenya has openly admitted it cannot meet its wage bill. Appearing before Parliament’s Public Investment Committee on Education and Governance, Vice Chancellor Benedict Mutua gave a grim account: “From 2013, under the former vice-chancellor, the staff have not been paid their gross salaries. The money we got could not support gross salaries as well as enable us to pay salaries,” he said.
TuK receives only Sh63.3 million monthly against a wage bill of Sh272 million. Statutory deductions such as NSSF, NHIF, housing levy, and SACCO contributions have gone unpaid for years. The institution employs 1,820 people serving 14,200 students and is now considering mass layoffs. A report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu continues to flag Kenya’s public universities for worsening financial positions.
Apart from the top five indebted universities, others like Masinde Muliro (Sh1.25 billion), Kisii University (Sh1.04 billion), Maasai Mara (Sh805 million), and even smaller institutions like Kibabii (Sh455 million) and Laikipia (Sh283 million) are drowning in debt. Newer institutions, which were expected to bring higher education closer to remote communities, are not spared. Turkana University College owes Sh10.8 million, while Allupe University has Sh16.2 million unpaid bills. Moi University recently sent home over 900 employees under a redundancy programme.
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Those affected include 372 Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA) members. Another 380 from the Kenya Universities Staff Union (KUSU) and 120 from the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU)-affiliated lecturers. Even pensioners and lecturers across institutions continue to pursue unpaid dues, often in vain.
Moi University is a good example of the rot. With a debt of KSh7.83 billion, the institution has experienced extended strikes, salary delays, and even a three-month closure following teaching and non-teaching staff protests. The government intervened with a Sh2.9 billion bailout.
During a visit to Moi University last year, the National Assembly Education Committee Chair, Julius Melly, also Tinderet MP, acknowledged the situation and urged a bailout. “Some Sh300 million will go towards scholarships this October, in addition to Sh217 million disbursed in August,” he said. The Education stakeholders now say that the institutions are crippled by a toxic mix of government under funding, internal inefficiencies, and poor financial management. On Wednesday, Melly pushed for a probe into irregularities in budget allocations.
“What does each university have to ensure that you pay these pending bills? Give us the road map on how they are paying,” demanded Julius Melly. Teso South MP Mary Emase said, “We are spreading funds for different projects, and none are completed. Where is the value for money?” There are also concerns over unjustified allocations—Melly questions why institutions like the University of Eldoret and the Open University received more funds than requested. “The Budget Policy Statement had Sh480 million and now has been given almost Sh800 million. Why this parity?” he posed.
Delays in payments to suppliers and staff have become the norm, with morale in a tailspin across campuses. Still, despite this commitment, the government insists that no university will be shut down—a promise that rings hollow as institutions implement painful austerity measures, the most severe of which are staff retrenchments.
By Joseph Mambili
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