Cash crunch – Universities struggle to stay afloat

During a meeting with the Senate Education Committee it emerged that with the decline in the number of self-sponsored students and the introduction since last year of funding of universities based on courses offered, most of the public higher education institutions are struggling to remain afloat, writes Ouma Wanzala for Daily Nation.

Moi University last year had indicated that it will put up a 36-storey building near Laico Regency Hotel to host its Nairobi campus, but the plan has since been shelved due to a lack of funds. Presbyterian University of East Africa has also put on sale 34 acres of land in Kikuyu to solve its financial crisis. Kenya Methodist University and Catholic University of Eastern Africa are among private universities struggling to pay their debts which stand at KES3 billion (US$29 million) and KES1.5 billion respectively.

Last month, the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) stopped workers of the Technical University of Kenya from accessing treatment in hospitals after the institution failed to submit more than KES55 million in deductions and penalties. NHIF Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Mwangi said the institution had not paid its premiums since April 2017.
Full report on the Daily Nation site