Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has come beneath over what has been termed as a roadside, but far-reaching declaration on the fate of State funding of public universities.
University lectures have warned Machogu against making ‘unilateral and roadside’ coverage declarations without any engagements with stakeholders.
Universities Academic Staff Union Organizing Secretary Onesmus Mutio on has requested the CS to seek advice from extensively before making radical coverage pronouncements.
Machogu had on yesterday put public universities on note saying they should generate their very own revenue as the State will soon cease funding them.
“I’m going to pass around every and each university in Kenya due to the fact a wide variety is confronted with economic problems and we are encouraging that they ought to generate their personal earnings because the exchequer as it is now is no longer going to proceed funding more,” Machogu said.
The CS spoke at the Dedan Kimathi University of Science and Technology in Nyeri County.
Mutio said most universities are financially crippled and hardly live to tell the tale barring authorities funding.”How do you end funding public universities? Are you planning to turn them into non-public entities? What will appear to students from humble backgrounds,” Mutio paused.
Mutio similarly tore into Machogu ‘s sentiments pronouncing most public universities are currently paying their body of workers solely 57 percent of their salaries.
“We hoped that this government would look at the deep financial challenges going through the public universities but it is very regrettable that the CS can start issuing such statements even before he settles down in office,” Mutio said.
The union secretary further defended universities saying they have now not been able to remit deductions to numerous entities.
According to the university Fund, Public universities have debts gathering to Sh56bn.
Public universities owe contractors Sh1.4bn, part-time lecturers Sh4.5bn, suppliers Sh4.8bn, and Sacco contributions Sh4.1bn.
NSSF is owed Sh139m, at NHIF there is Sh2million, loan deductions well worth Sh1.3bn, pension schemes Sh18bn and PAYE is owed is Sh13bn, while other loans have collected Sh10bn.
