Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu on Monday, September 4, revealed that the Ministry of Education had started engaging the National Treasury over Ksh60 billion debt owed to Kenya Revenue Authority by universities.
The CS announced that a committee had been formed by the Ministry of Education and Treasury to find a solution to avert the crisis in institutions of higher learning ahead of admissions.
According to Education CS, universities were unable to pay KRA, its workers, and even clear pension schemes. Machogu noted that the pending bills had accrued in the last five years.
Machogu blamed the debt crisis on the old funding model of the universities called the DUC (Differentiated Unit Cost) which saw students undertaking expensive courses like Medicine get the lion’s share of the funds.
“Universities have pending bills of around Ksh 62 billion and we are working with the national government on how KRA can waive some of these bills,” he stated.
While addressing the press in Lake Naivasha Resort after meeting the Senate committee on education, he insisted that the new funding model would solve challenges in the universities.
“The new university funding model has been split into four groups and students from the most vulnerable families will be the biggest beneficiaries,” he noted.
The CS noted that the Ministry had changed the capitation formula with schools getting 50 per cent the first term, 30 per cent in the second term and the last in the final term and that they were working closely with TSC in addressing challenges facing teachers and the education system
“We have also heard some teachers in Northern Kenya complain about cases of insecurity and the government would like to assure them of their safety, we have managed to pay all the invigilators who participated in the exams and going forward we shall put measures in place to pay them soon after the exercise,” he made it clear.
Universities are set to start admitting students in September using the new funding model launched by President William Ruto. Despite challenges experienced by some learners, the government insisted that the new model was ideal for the country.
