Blow to Students Joining Universities in September
Blow to Students Joining Universities in September
Blow to Students Joining Universities in September
Higher education institutions now face increased tuition costs for incoming students as a result of the Budget and Appropriations Committee’s proposal to cut funding.
The Universities Funding Board’s budget will be drastically reduced, according to the Report on the Consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the 2024–2025 Financial Year, which was published on Thursday.
“Reduce Ksh5.2 billion (recurrent) from University Funding Board – students joining various universities in September 2024,” according to a portion of the report.
Universities may be obliged to raise tuition due to the severe budget cuts, which will have an impact on most students. As a result, more pupils would be unable to enroll in colleges.
Notably, the board is tasked for allocating funds to universities in compliance with the set standards. It is also responsible for mobilizing and accepting cash from donors, the government, and other sources.
This proposal is being made at the same time that the new university finance model was unveiled, guaranteeing financial aid to students in all categories so they can enroll in TVETs, colleges, and universities.
However, the funding model has faced challenges barely a year since it was operationalised. Last Tuesday, complaints were raised before Members of Parliament that thousands of students had opted out of university due to lack of proper facilitation arising from hiccups associated with the new model.
Due to the obstacles, the Education Committee was compelled to ask universities to return their admissions letters, citing fee structure irregularities in spite of the new model.
Similarly, the MPs suggested in the report cutting Ksh40 million from the Commission for University Education (CUE) budget.
The committee recommended a Ksh 200 million budget cut for the Open University of Kenya and other educational-related topics. Additionally, it recommended cutting Kss90 million from the infrastructure support budget for development.
The committee also suggested cutting Ksh12.6 million from public participation projects’ development budget and Ksh30 million from the amount designated for dormitory construction.
“Increase Ksh6 billion (recurrent) for public universities to support continuing students who are funded under the old funding model of Differentiated Unit Cost,” stated a portion of the paper.
