•The new funding method, Differentiated Unit Cost, was blamed for the poor funding of the institutions.
•In DUC, the government only funds 80 per cent while the remaining 20 per cent is to be acquired through tuition fees and other projects.
Image: CAROLINE WAMBUA
More universities could end up insolvent unless the government increases financial allocation to them, a parliamentary report shows.
The new funding method, Differentiated Unit Cost, was blamed for the poor funding of the institutions.
In DUC, the government only funds 80 per cent while the remaining 20 per cent is to be acquired through tuition fees and other projects.
“If the 13th Parliament committee fully funds DUC, public universities will be financially stable and will relieve them from huge accrued debts,” a report by the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Education says.
The committee, which was chaired by Busia Woman Representative Florence Mutua, revealed that despite several efforts to save varsities, more interventions are needed in place.
“The committee has however not been able to fully intervene in tackling systemic challenges facing higher education sector, especially public universities,” the report reads.
The Mutua-led committee clarified that universities facing a cash crunch require long-term financial decisions to solve the looming crisis.
In the financial year 2019/2020, the Auditor General declared 12 public universities technically insolvent.
“Most of the public universities are in dire need of finances to sustain their operations and the envisaged university reforms being undertaken have been inordinately slow,” Mutua said.
The committee tasked the incoming Parliament to liaise with the Treasury to adequately fund the universities.
The Busia Woman Pep added that the education sector’s budget has been gradually increasing since 2017.
“At the beginning of the 12th Parliament in 2017, the budget for education was Sh405 billion. This has increased to Sh544 billion in 2022/2023,” the report reads.
The increment reflects an increase of Sh140 billion for the five-year tenure.
Further, Mutua clarified that when the committee took office, the ministry of education only had two state departments and one agency, that is the Teachers Service Commission.
Currently, the Education ministry has five state departments, alongside other agencies.
The departments are early learning and basic education, university education and research, technical and vocational training.
Others are curriculum reforms and implementation and post-vocational training.
From the expansion of state departments, the committee was able to initiate key projects which were funded by the government.
These include free primary and subsidised secondary education where the first lot of students to be enrolled sat their KCSE this year.
“Implementation of one hundred per cent transition, expansion of school infrastructure, provision of meals for children, and capitation to special needs learners,” Mutua said.
The department led by PS Julius Jwan was also highlighted as a great beneficiary of the education committee.