Vice Chancellors from both public and private universities have thrown their weight behind the new university funding model which has proven to be a nightmare for President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration.
This comes amidst pressure from stakeholders including university students urging the Head of State to revert to the Differential Unit Cost (DUC) model.
However, the VCs led by Prof Laban Ayiro (Daystar), Prof Samuel Gudu (Rongo), Prof Emily Achieng (Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology), Prof Laila Abubakar (Technical University of Mombasa), and Prof Aloo Obudho (Maasai Mara) said the new model is a fantastic intervention for universities.
Speaking during the Kenya Network of Entrepreneurial Institutions Leaders Council Meeting (KNEIL) in Mombasa, the university administrators urged parents and students to support the new funding model.
“The university funding model is an attempt to address a problem, as Kenyans we need to appreciate that. This model has to be given time to incubate and then we will see the various aspects of it that might need refashioning,” said Prof Ayiro of Daystar University.
The don said the President’s pronouncement that the state will step in to cushion the universities as they go through the transition period will boost the institutions.
“I had the privilege to be a VC in a public university and now I am in a private university, I think we have not exploited the potential of revenue generation maximally,” said Prof Ayiro.
The university administrator urged universities to tap into entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialisation.
The Daystar VC said there are a lot of global resources that can be tapped into to ensure the institutions of higher learning do not depend fully on the National Treasury for support both their recurrent and development budgets.
“My advice would be, we must have a privately oriented mindset because resources from the state are diminishing and yet Kenyans need that university education,” added the VC.
The VC with a background in Economics on Education, said the new model must run for 48 months adding that it will ensure quality and cost.
“If you are looking for quality and cost, a model like this would normally run through a cycle of 48 months,” said the VC.
Prof Ayiro said the planners of the model should have had a cushioning fund during the transition period so that universities are engaging in the model while parents are being sensitized as learning goes on so that students are not disadvantaged.
According to the don, the old funding model was not working because the variations were not factored in during university budgeting.
“We started the new model with the 2022 KCSE students and we are already seeing the benefits. It is improving the funding situation in our institutions. However, like what Prof Ayiro said we need atleast four years to see the full benefits of the funding,” said Prof Aloo.
The VC whose university has a population of 9,400 students urged Kenyans to exercise patience.
“Kenyans are in a hurry to see the funding model being a panacea. No! Let us give it time, in four years, universities will be smiling. The new model is a good thing, let’s stop castigating and demonizing the funding model. It's good, but there was not enough sensitisation,” added the don.
The VCs said the model has the potential to give institutions of higher learning a better source of revenue than the old funding model.
“Simply because the total fee is a little more than what was coming before. It is more faithful to the actual cost of the teaching program. There is an amount it takes to train somebody for instance music technology will be more expensive than music performance because of the material you use and one-on-one time that you have with students,” said
On his part, Prof Gudu said the model will rescue institutions of higher learning that have been grappling with financial challenges.
“We should implement the new model and address the challenges,” said Prof Gudu.
Kenya National Innovation Agency chief executive officer, Dr Tonny Omwansa urged universities to work together to create solutions for society.
Technical University of Mombasa Vice Chancellor Prof Laila Abubakar, who was also a member of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, also lauded the new funding model terming it student-centered.
However, she blamed its implementation.
“We are the ones who proposed that kind of funding model, unfortunately, the challenge is in implementation. When we came up with the model, the state was supposed to pay institutions of higher learning (Universities and TVETs) 80 per cent and the parent coughs only 20 per cent,” said Prof Abubakar.
However, Prof Abubakar said the model later became DUC because of some courses like Engineering, and Medicine which are practical-oriented are cost-intensive.
“When you undertake business courses you pay less but if you undertake a high-cost intensive course you pay higher fees. Unfortunately, university enrolment surged, and the state reduced funding in our institutions instead giving us 60 per cent and later 40 per cent,” said Prof Abubakar.
However, the VC said the education stakeholders decided to ensure university education is cost-shared between the parents and the state.
“Some parents are wealthy, others are poor so we decided to separate them. If you can afford a Sh100,000 fee in both primary and secondary school why would you want to pay Sh16,000 in university per year? Asked the VC.
Prof Abubakar said the student-centered model would have been successful were it not faced with teething problems in its implementation.
Her institution has already sent admission letters to 1,500 students who have been categorised.
On May 31, 2023, President Ruto launched the Higher Education Funding Model which began its implementation in September same year to all first-year students to correct the financial health of universities.
The model was introduced due to financial woes facing the institutions of higher learning which were owed over Sh60 billion.
Under the model, beneficiaries are awarded loans, scholarships, or both, and students are classified into five bands depending on their families’ level of need.
The categorization of students is realised through a reliable scientific method, Means Testing Instrument (MTI), used to determine the student’s level of financial need, to ensure they are supported adequately.
The government support is through scholarships that are awarded by the UF and student loans that are awarded through the Higher Education Loans Board. Whereas students will not be required to pack back the scholarship component, the tuition loan and upkeep loan will be payable upon graduation and will attract a four per cent interest per year.
Under the old model, graduates only pay for the upkeep loan and the scholarship (grant) has been automatic for all government-sponsored students.
