Universities under pressure to raise fees to stay afloat

Standard 22 October 2016

Public universities may be forced to increase fees by KES8,000 (US$79) per annum to shake off financial constraints that have left them broke, writes Augustine Oduor for the Standard.

The 32 universities want annual fees paid by students increased from KES16,000 to KES24,000, and the government to raise the average contribution per student to KES250,000, from an average of KES129,058. They argue the current funding model is outdated and blame it for the financial stress that has seen a majority of public universities sink into huge debts with negative working capital as detailed in a recent parliamentary watchdog report.

In the meantime, to help the struggling institutions, the government is being pushed to increase its annual capitation by KES10 billion by next year. Under this arrangement, universities would have to increase their contribution per student to up to KES50,000 per year.
Full report on the Standard site

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