• Since 2016 when the system was introduced, the private universities have enrolled 47,548 students.
• In some private universities, 50 per cent of the student population is currently government sponsored.
Image: FILE
Private universities will lose thousands of government-sponsored students they enrol every year if a proposal by a state agency is adopted.
The University Funding Board says the burden of funding undergraduate students in private universities under the programme is no longer sustainable. It wants the government to progressively stop the programme.
Since 2016 when the system was introduced, the private universities have enrolled 47,548 students. In some private universities, 50 per cent of the student population is currently government-sponsored.
If adopted, the institutions will lose crucial revenue streams that they have enjoyed for the last four years.
The programme was introduced after the government revised its policy to sponsor all students with university entry grades of C+ and above.
The directive killed the parallel degree or module II programme in public universities. It also starved private universities of all the eligible students who were previously left out by higher education placement agency cut-off points.
An outcry from private universities owners forced the government to place undergraduate students in the institutions under public sponsorship.
In the programme, both public and private universities declare capacity of the accredited courses they offer to the Kenya University and Colleges Placement Services for placement.
Subsequently, students with C+ (Plus) and above grades are enrolled based on the declared capacity and courses of their choice.
Private universities first admitted government-sponsored students in 2016 and took 6,312 students.
At the time, the government said it was a strategic intervention to address the inadequacy of capacity by public universities.
In 2017, they admitted 12,275 while in 2018 they took 11,239, and another 17,722 students were placed in 2019.
Just like in public universities, the government funds the students based on the courses they take. The formula is called the Differentiated Unit Cost.
Under the formula, science-oriented courses get relatively higher funding compared to the arts and business courses.
However, in the document, UFB admits that resource allocated to the private institutions fall far too low thus fails to meet the academic needs of the students.
"Consequently the resources allocated to private universities are being spread too thin to be effective," the UFB report reads.
The board, however, says that continuing students in private universities under state funding should be allowed to complete their studies under the system.
"The placement of Government Sponsored Students in the following years in private universities should be put on hold until a policy is developed and adequate resources are provided," the board recommends.
The proposals are contained in a document titled ‘Proposed Reforms for University Education and Research’, which seeks to address the funding of government-sponsored students.
The UFB is a semi-autonomous government agency established by Section 53 of the Universities Act, 2012 with the main mandate of financing universities in Kenya. The agency advises the Education Cabinet Secretary on university education funding and related policy issues.
In the proposed changes, UFB wants admissions of government-sponsored students to be on the basis of strategic interests and financial capacity.
The board proposes that the government should only sponsor students to private universities if programmes being pursued are not offered in public institutions.
In order to achieve this, the board says, a policy on placement and sponsorship of students in private universities should be developed.
The board says that for the private universities to be competitive, the state can give them conditional grants with emphasis on partnership in strategic programmes and projects.
“Focus energy and resources on financing public universities and only funding students in private universities who are in government priority areas or programmes only which private universities have the capacity to offer,” the report reads.
If adopted, universities could be limited to the number of courses that they can admit students sponsored by the government.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration has urged universities to put special focus on science, technology, engineering, or mathematic (STEM) education. The government seeks to create the required manpower to develop the Jubilee flagship Big Four Agenda.
In the meantime, UFB proposes that the government provides adequate funds for the students who are currently placed and have ongoing programmes in private universities.
The resource constraints caused some universities such as Strathmore, USIU and Daystar to pass the government offer to send students to them.
The funding problem was so bad that in 2019, private universities petitioned the National Assembly for Sh5.6 billion to support government-sponsored students in their institutions.
The petition, fronted by Kenya Association of Private Universities noted that funds allocated to the institutions are not enough to cater for the needs of the students.
"The allocation currently stands at Sh2 billion; and has failed to grow with the increase in number of students in the institutions," Mumo Kisau, the association chairman said.
However, little has been done to correct the funding problem with the institutions set to get the same allocation of Sh2 billion in the 2020-21 financial year.
Public Universities.
As for public institutions, UFB recommends the universities be classified with clear subject specialisations. They would include universities of science and technology; research universities; sports and creative arts universities; and generalised universities.
In so doing, government sponsored-students placed moving forward will be admitted only in the classified programmes.
In its proposal, the UFB also seeks establishment of a University Education Data Management Information System. But critics fault this as overlapping of mandates.
They argue that the recently adopted online registration for primary and secondary schools— NEMIS— should be extended to accommodate the university sector.
With a decline in the revenue collection in public universities, UFB has proposed that the business model in the institutions be reviewed.
It has also proposed that the government considers at least 30 per cent of international consultancies be done in collaboration with local universities.
"Universities should strengthen capacities of staff in proposal writing, consultancy and research in order to access funds and equipment from development agencies," the document reads.
Special funding
The proposal also seeks a new funding criteria that will give priority to students with disability, women in STEM, masters and PhD scholars.
For those with disability, the fund estimates, Sh288,000 annually for their needs. For this category of learners, UFB proposes that 1,000 slots be made available each year.
Another 5,000 girls who will choose the STEM courses will get Sh564,000 annually to support their education.
Masters scholars will get Sh384,000 annually if approved while PhD scholars are set to get the highest in government funding at Sh972,000 annually.
The proposal seeks to fund 1,500 and 500 scholars in the masters and PhD scholars annually.
(edited by o. owino)