• However, he brushed off an earlier proposal by Vice-Chancellors to review fees paid by students in the institutions.
• Magoha said the ministry is engaging universities to stop duplicated courses offered across many universities.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
The Ministry of Education has renewed calls for radical reforms in universities.
While appearing in parliament on Thursday, Education CS George Magoha said the ministry is currently negotiating with universities to ensure they operate within their budgetary means.
This will be through budgeting below the capitation received and revenue realized.
However, he brushed off an earlier proposal by vice chancellors to review fees paid by students in the institutions.
“Review of fees charged should only be considered after public participation of all stakeholders, the prevailing economic Covid-19 impact on many households must be taken into account in such an engagement,” Magoha said.
In the proposal, hundreds of ongoing infrastructure projects in universities will also be audited and refocused while others will be abandoned.
The reforms seek to streamline how the institutions manage their finances.
In his presentation to the National Assembly Education Committee, Magoha said the ministry is engaging universities to stop duplicated courses offered across many universities.
The courses will be moved to institutions that have a competitive advantage or niche in such courses.
Magoha said the ministry sought to deploy post-graduate students to perform some of the functions supported by administrative staff.
“This will build the capacity of students and prepare them adequately for their future roles in developing society,” Magoha said.
The measures will also push universities to automate services as cost mitigation and prioritise research to attract funding locally, regionally and internationally.
“There is a need to consider introducing new income generation streams. These may include charging fees for use of university facilities and utilizing the idle assets such as land for income generation purposes,” the CS said.
He was responding to questions by Tecla Tum, Nandi woman representative who questioned steps taken by the ministry to address financial challenges facing public universities.
Magoha took a swipe at the university leadership for poor financial decisions that have sunk the institutions into financial troubles.
“There’s a mismatch of the academic support staff ratio which is indicative of a failure by universities to right-size staff,” he said.
He further lamented on the many redundant administrative positions currently in universities.
The universities leadership was further blamed for the establishment of numerous redundant projects, over-reliance on government, and establishment of redundant and loss-making satellite campuses and programs.
The proposal mirrors those fronted in 2019 by the CS in a bid to tackle the financial challenges facing the institutions.
However, the changes were not effected following resistance by university bosses.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris