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University Staff at Risk of Job Loss As Fee Hikes Looms

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University Staff at Risk of Job Loss As Fee Hikes Looms

University Staff at Risk of Job Loss As Fee Hikes Looms

According to a recent high-level university meeting in Mombasa, the burden of getting universities out of their current financial crisis may fall largely on parents.

Vice-chancellors are pushing for increased tuition fees, parents to pay all fees arrears, increased state contribution, and staff rationalization as the top priority solutions to resuscitate the institutions.

The Vice-chancellors are hoping that the government will support their request to enforce full payment and increase fees, as the Universities Act does not provide a roadmap for the same.

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However, these two priority solutions to end the funding crisis now put parents at the center of reforming university education and stabilizing institutions of higher learning that are now sinking under Sh56 billion in debt.

The resolutions of the conference will have a huge impact on proposals to be made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms in their final report due in March.

This meeting brought together all Vice-chancellors of public and private universities, principals of constituent colleges, and government agencies involved in funding higher learning institutions.

The head of the Universities Fund, Higher Education Loans Board, Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Board, and top budgeting officials from the National Treasury and Planning also attended the meeting.

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According to a senior government official, “The Working party report presented to the president was not immediately adopted and this conference is critical because the task force will borrow hugely from it.”

The Education Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, expressed concern that universities are now sinking under Sh56 billion in debt, mainly due to staff pensions and statutory deductions such as Pay As You Earn and National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).

He stated that many universities are struggling to pay staff salaries and suppliers, and this financial crisis is a threat to their ability to perform their primary mandate of teaching and research.

Vice-chancellors believe that increasing tuition fees, pushing parents to pay arrears, increasing state contribution, and staff rationalization are the top priority solutions to resuscitate the institutions.

The resolutions of the recent conference will have a huge impact on proposals to be made by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms in their final report.

However, this financial crisis puts parents at the center of reforming university education, and if the institutions fail, it will threaten their ability to perform their primary mandate of teaching and research.

During the First Biennial Universities Funding conference, Vice-chancellors of public universities presented potential strategies to address the financial sustainability challenge.

They spoke candidly about the challenges facing universities in Kenya and outlined their proposed solutions.

The Vice-chancellors’ committee suggested that fees for each program should be fully paid at 100 per cent, and that tuition fees should be increased. However, they acknowledged that universities in Kenya cannot increase fees without the government’s support.

If Vice-chancellors have their way, parents will be asked to clear all fees arrears to boost institutions’ financial status. They also insist that State funding be increased to 80 per cent of the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC), up from the current 48 per cent.

Fees increment and raising State funding to 80 per cent are some of the key proposals contained in the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, but President William Ruto rejected them.

However, sources suggest that fees increment and raising State funding will still feature in final resolutions and that these proposals will be part of the Working Party’s recommendations.

“There is no way out of this. Fees must go up, and the State must increase its funding to universities. The rest will follow,” said a top Vice-chancellor.

The working party proposed that university fees be increased from Sh16,000 to Sh52,000, a matter that has over the years drawn sharp reactions from parents and student unions.

Attempts by the previous regime to increase fees met strong resistance from parents and students through their unions.

The late former Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha calmed down the anxiety by dismissing Vice-chancellors’ attempts to hike fees as students poured onto the streets to protest the planned move.

During a past State House meeting, President Ruto was not keen to adopt the huge leap on State increased funding to 80 per cent. “The president questioned why this could not be done gradually, say to 52 per cent and so on and so forth. But the team failed to justify the proposal and to explain how the huge leap could be achieved,” said an insider.

In their presentations, Vice-chancellors argued that, to buttress their two key proposals, increasing the pricing of the services universities provide, such as food, accommodation, and staff housing, should also be explored.

They suggested that these pricing strategies could help increase revenue for universities, which would ultimately lead to greater financial sustainability.

In conclusion, the Vice-chancellors of public universities in Kenya have laid bare the financial sustainability challenge facing universities in the country.

They have proposed several potential solutions, including increasing fees, raising State funding to 80 per cent of the Differentiated Unit Cost, and increasing the pricing of services provided by universities.

While some proposals have been rejected, they continue to be part of ongoing discussions, and the search for viable solutions continues.

University Staff at Risk of Job Loss As Fee Hikes Looms

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