Parliament is considering amendments to the law to prohibit unilateral directives by the President and the Cabinet Secretary requiring universities to allow students to sit for exams or graduate without paying tuition fees.
The National Assembly's Public Investment Committee on Governance and Education said it will propose amendments to the Universities Act to prevent the President or the Cabinet Secretary for Education from issuing unilateral directives that ultimately cause cash-flow problems for universities.
The decision to amend the Act follows revelations by the Jaramogi Odinga Oginga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) that it has been unable to collect Sh469.8 million from students as a result of presidential directives.
“During the year under review, we were unable to get fees from students because the presidential directives stopped us from collecting fees from students allowing those who had not cleared fees to sit exams,” Vice Chancellor Emily Achieng Akuno told the committee.
“The University’s Financial Management and Procedure Manual, initially approved on April 19, 2014, provides clear guidance that students cannot sit exams without clearing fees.”
Ms Akuno said the Jaramogi Odinga Oginga University of Science and Technology had 9,250 registered students in the academic year that ended last Friday.
In 2022 and 2024, President William Ruto directed Kenyan universities to allow all students, including those with fee arrears, to sit for their end-of-semester examinations.
In December 2024, Dr Ruto asked universities to allow students with arrears to sit for exams but acknowledged that many universities were struggling financially with a Sh120 billion debt.
He, however, noted that the huge debt will be addressed with the implementation of the new university funding model.
Dr Ruto said the financial woes faced by many public universities were a result of accumulated debt and disruptions caused by the transition to a new university funding model.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu had questioned Jaramogi Odinga Oginga University of Science and Technology's failure to recover Sh280,421,725, which includes Sh469,824,169 owed by students, of which Sh278,888,943 is considered bad and doubtful debt.
The chairperson of the committee, Wanami Wamboka, has directed the clerk of the committee to draft amendments to the Higher Education Act.
“We need to urgently put in place a law. We cannot allow students to sit examinations or graduate without paying fees. If this is allowed, those who have capacity to pay fees will not pay,” Mr Wamboka said.
“We need a law that deters politicians from making pedestrian directives, be it from the President or the Cabinet Secretary, that makes universities suffer financial challenges.”
Mr Wamboka said the government should not be allowed to insist on releasing certificates to students who have not paid all fees or who sit exams without paying fees.
Central Imenti MP Moses Kirima demanded to know why the management of Jaramogi Odinga Oginga University of Science and Technology had failed to trace the students who owed it money for fees.
“You should be able to trace where your students who left university without clearing fees are working or doing business. You have their data and it is easy to track them and recover these bad debts,” Mr Kirima said.
“What are you doing to recover debts from those who have been engaged and are working without repaying the debts?”
The Vice Chancellor told MPs that students who owe the university are not allowed to graduate without clearing all the fee balances.
“They cannot get certificates and therefore cannot get jobs. We are already tracing students who owe us money in terms of fees,” Ms Akuno said.
