Plans underway to waive bills for universities
Public universities owe KRA 60 billion shillings, and the Ministry of Education is working with the Treasury to find methods to discharge some of that debt.
The ministry acknowledged that the higher education institutions were in financial trouble and could not afford to settle all of their outstanding debts.Ezekiel Machogu, the cabinet secretary for the ministry of education, announced the formation of a committee from the ministry and the Treasury to investigate the pending bills.
He pointed out that the unpaid debts had accumulated over the previous five years as a result of the institutions’ inability to pay for KRA, PAYE, and worker pension plans.
He attributed this to the outdated DUC (Differentiated Unit Cost) funding scheme for universities, which saw students enrolled in expensive degrees like medicine receive the lion’s share of money.
He said, “We are working with the national government on how KRA can waive some of these bills. Universities have pending bills of about Ksh 62B.”
After meeting with the Senate committee on education, the CS spoke to the media at Lake Naivasha Resort and asserted that the new funding model would address issues in the institutions.
“The new university funding model has been split into four groups, and students from the most vulnerable families will be the biggest beneficiaries,” he stated.
The CS mentioned that the Ministry has revised the capitation formula so that schools now receive 50 percent in the first term, 30 percent in the second term, and the remaining 10 percent in the final term. The CS also mentioned that they were collaborating closely with TSC to address difficulties facing schools.
The government wants to reassure the teachers that they will be safe. “We have managed to pay all the invigilators who participated in the exams, and going forward we shall put measures in place to pay them soon after the exercise,” he said. “We have also heard some teachers in Northern Kenya complain about cases of insecurity.
Joseph Nyutu, the chair of the Senate committee, praised the Ministry for the new university funding model, noting that all low-income students would benefit. He also noted that the Ministry had assured him that special needs schools would be the first to receive capitation fees under the new funding model.
Plans underway to waive bills for universities
