University education in Kenya has expanded over the years. Currently, there are 39 public universities and 31 private ones.
However, the picture is not rosy in public universities as they are reeling under a Sh61 billion debt, according to documents tabled in Parliament.
The major pending bills include Pay As You Earn at Sh17.7 billion, unremitted pension (Sh24.6 billion), payroll deductions (Sh3 billion) and deferred salaries at Sh2.9 billion.
Also outstanding is Sh7.7 billion for suppliers, Sh3.2 billion for part-time lecturers, Sh900 million as prepaid fees refundable to students and Sh 1.2 billion listed as other payments.
Apart from the financial challenges, many suffer from run down facilities, bloated wage bills, nepotism and pure mismanagement.
University expansion has enabled more Kenyans to access university education but the rapid growth has brought with it many challenges.
There is need to rationalise the number of public universities by merging some to create entities with strong financial muscles.
We need a manageable number that the Exchequer can comfortably fund. The universities must, however, equally go into entrepreneurship to generate their own revenue.
Universities must not duplicate courses or compete with diploma and technical colleges for students but instead cut a niche for themselves and offer specialised degree courses.
