Varsities obtained Sh241bn in six years in outdated funding mannequin Hospitals report

College of Nairobi foremost entrance. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

Public universities had been allotted Sh241.53 billion for pupil capitation for the six years that the State used the differentiated unit value (DUC) mannequin, which was phased out in July, 2023.

Official information reveals allocations hit a excessive of Sh44 billion within the 12 months ended June 2023, the final 12 months of the DUC, in comparison with Sh33.3 billion allotted within the 2017/18 interval— the primary 12 months of the components.

Beneath DUC, establishments had been allotted budgets primarily based on the variety of undergraduate college students admitted and the varieties of programs they take.

The federal government phased out the DUC components in July and launched a brand new criterion the place college students will get funds primarily based on their degree of want, in an effort to ease stress on the exchequer.

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An evaluation of the info from the Universities Fund (UF) reveals that College of Nairobi acquired the very best share of the cash within the six years at Sh29.8 billion or 12 p.c, highlighting the affect of the excessive variety of college students it admits.

DUC was stricken by delayed allocations from the Nationwide Treasury with the finances failing to match the sharp rise in State-sponsored learners enrolling on the varsities through the years.

UF – the State company that advises the federal government on how one can allocate funds to college students within the varsities— says that the brand new funding components is extra conscious of the completely different revenue ranges throughout households.

“Enrollment has been rising whereas DUC has been declining therefore the necessity for reforms within the college funding,” UF stated whereas making the case for the brand new funding components.

Kenyatta College took the second greatest share of the allocations at Sh18.84 billion or 7.8 p.c, adopted by Moi College at Sh18.6 billion (7.7 p.c), Jomo Kenyatta College of Agriculture and Know-how at Sh16.3 billion (6.7 p.c).

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However the universities are but to get the allotted quantities even because the State dropped the DUC in favor of the needs-based mannequin.

The massive share of funding to the few public universities highlights their excessive enrollment numbers and price programs that had been key in figuring out allocation of the funds below DUC, which was launched in 2016 the place the federal government was to cater for 80 p.c of the unit prices with the remaining 20 p.c borne by households and establishments.

The DUC funding by no means hit the stipulated 80 p.c and the very best was 66 p.c within the 2018/19 monetary 12 months.

It remained on the decline and hit 48 p.c within the 12 months ended June 2023, hitting public universities which have since sunk into monetary woes with a minimum of Sh60 billion in unpaid payments and statutory deductions.

Rising numbers of government-sponsored college students in public universities towards declining allocations from the Nationwide Treasury prompted the William Ruto administration to hunt a brand new components.

The brand new components shall be utilized with the batch of government-sponsored college students who joined universities in September final 12 months.

Beneath the components, the State is apportioning funds to college students primarily based on their ranges of want categorised into 4— weak, extraordinarily needy, needy and fewer needy. The establishments of upper studying shall be financed via scholarships at 80 p.c and thru loans at 20 p.c.

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