Government To Start Collecting All Cash Generated By Public Universities

The government will soon start collecting all the money generated from public universities in accordance with the austerity measures proposed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The directive had long been given to Public universities Vice-chancellors by former Cabinet Secretary for Education Dr. Fred Matiang’i who wanted the Treasury to collect and have the money managed by Universities Funding Board (UFB) but had been rejected by the dons who claimed that the monies generated were always declared and ploughed back to the programme.

The money collected by universities was mostly sourced from non-government sponsored students, popularly known as Module II students.

Students who attain C+ and above in their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) are directly absorbed into all universities, leaving a few privately sponsored students who in the competitions between universities are shared amongst both private and public universities, with some missing out.

With such a huge number of students, both government-sponsored and privately sponsored joining the higher learning institutions, universities tend to offer a wide range of degree programs and often have to rely on part-time lecturers’ services.

READ: Co-op Bank Scholarships: Willing To Study But Got No Money?

Moreover, the parallel program that has been the biggest source of money for universities may soon be scrapped off as the government intends to have all students joining universities and colleges sponsored by it.

The presidential austerity measures will only mean that if the treasury is to collect all the monies from universities, the universities will most likely lack adequate resources to see that their teaching staff members are paid.

According to UoN’s acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Isaac Mbeche, universities have started submitting any surplus funds to the National Treasury, as universities plan to cut down on module II expenditure before it is done away with in the future.