It is increasingly becoming untenable for private universities to keep public-sponsored students in class unless the government reviews the funding arrangement for the program.
Kenya Association of Private Universities says it is strenuous to sustain the students due to the unpredictability of the release of the fees by the State.
The government hardly releases the fees in time, they said.
It takes up to a year or more for the state to release the funds for the cohorts seconded to private universities by Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service.
KAPU also complains that the funds released are capped at Sh2 billion yet the number of students they take in is not constant.
"In 2016/17, we took around 6,000 students and the numbers more than doubled in 2017/18 and 2018/19. We project that it would shoot to over 40,000 students in 2019/20," said KAPU chairman Mumo Kisau.
Kisau said the government disbursed Sh2 billion for the first cohort, but the figure dipped to Sh1.98 billion for the second lot before rising to Sh2.1 billion for the third group.
"The figure fluctuates and the government sends it quite late. We have to take bank overdrafts to sustain the students," he said during a consultative session of the heads of the universities at Radisson Blue Hotel in Nairobi.
Kisau recalled that they had agreed with the government to be releasing an average of Sh78,000 per student but this has not been the case, with some institutions receiving as low as Sh35,000 per student.
"We want the figure raised to Sh5.6 billion for the academic year 2019/20 otherwise it will discourage the institutions from participating," he added.
Already, the uncertainty of funding has forced Strathmore and USIU universities to pull out of the programme, the KAPU boss said.
Some of the institutions are struggling to stay afloat and have been rendered credit-unworthy, he said.
The Commission for University Education chief executive Mwenda Ntarangwi blames the environment in which private institutions operates for creating a skewed perception against them.
"Everybody believes private universities are commercial entities, raking in billions of shillings and hence they should not complain," he says, adding that the institutions should plead their case by highlighting how they contribute to the country's development.
"Highlight what value you add to the sectors of this country. Unlike private academies and high schools known for high flying performances, contributions of private universities are not known. Emphasize what you do for positive public perception."
"Unlike dons in public universities who can match in the streets to demand for money, your case is different. You should not be seen to be complaining," Ntarangwi added.
USIU's Paul Zeleza asked the government to consider exploring giving tax exemptions to philanthropic well-to-do individuals for them to fund universities and reduce over-reliance of the institutions on tuition and government funding.
