- According to data acquired from the funding agency, the accumulated debt includes remittances, part-time lecturers, Sacco and contractors, among others.
- The universities owe contractors Sh1.4 billion, part-time lecturers Sh4.5 billion, suppliers Sh4.8 billion and Sacco contributions Sh4.1 billion.
Image: FILE
The Universities Fund is in the process of initiating a data management system for university students.
This system is meant to help the fund keep track of students who will be funded.
The agency's CEO Geoffrey Monari said once implemented, the system will help the board manage the number of university students.
"At times when we ask universities for data they either hike or reduce the numbers we are supposed to fund," Monari said.
He was speaking during a workshop with journalists.
Monari said the process includes several other stakeholders in the education sector to implement the system.
"Knec (Kenya National Examinations Council) has the data for students who have scored C+ and above and need funding. Then from there is Kuccps [which] places those students to universities," he said.
Monari added that the system will be ready for use by the start of the next financial year.
Once the system is implemented, the UF will be able to monitor the progress of students in universities.
They will be able to detect how many students enrolled for a semester by determining whether they completed the semester or deferred.
UF will also have the information of students who die then they will stop funding the particular student.
The CEO clarified concerns surrounding funding of government sponsored students in private universities.
" For example, in 2020/2021 we funded 61,541 students in private universities and another 271,446 in public universities," he said.
In private universities the approved budget was Sh2.7 billion compared to Sh41.9 billion for public universities.
Monari urged public universities to find alternative income-generating avenues.
According to data acquired from the funding agency, the accumulated debt includes remittances, part-time lecturers, Sacco and contractors, among others.
The universities owe contractors Sh1.4 billion, part-time lecturers Sh4.5 billion, suppliers Sh4.8 billion and Sacco contributions Sh4.1 billion.
"NSSF is owed Sh139 million, at NHIF there is Sh2 million, loan deductions worth Sh1.3 billion, pension schemes Sh18 billion and PAYE owed is Sh13 billion, while other loans have accumulated Sh10 billion," he said.
Monari said that relying on government financing is dangerous since the funds are never enough because of the continued increase in the number of students enrolled in universities.
For instance, as 2022 KCSE students await to start their exam, the board expects an increase of 52,195 who are to be funded by the government.
The funding requirement for the 2022 cohort of 145,145 students is Sh32 billion, while the available funds is Sh12 billion," Monari said.
The UFB chief executive said that the board is not able to fulfil the required finding percentage.
According to the differentiated unit cost (DUC) funding method, the government is expected to fund 80 per cent while the remaining 20 per cent is to be generated internally by universities.
Monari, however, said that due to the financial situation in the country, the allocation started at 66 per cent and was later reduced to 48.11 per cent and is currently at 44 per cent.
"The current DUC requirement is Sh87 billion but the available budget is Sh47 billion hence the deficit is Sh39 billion," he said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)