PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES PUT BILLIONS TO GOOD USE

A couple of months ago a spokesperson for a government organization raised a raging storm when he accused managers of public universities of squandering billions of shillings on unsustainable projects.

He stopped short of accusing management and academic staff of financial impropriety. His assertion spawned a string of write-ups from all manner of ‘experts’ most of whom either have no clue about resource

He stopped short of accusing management and academic staff of financial impropriety. His assertion spawned a string of write-ups from all manner of ‘experts’ most of whom either have no clue about resource mobilisation and expenditure at university or are carrying out some unspecified personal vendettas against the public university system.

It is true universities have earned billions from self-sponsored students in the last 15 or so years. But to suggest that these moneys have been misappropriated is tantamount to a suicidal self-incriminating exercise especially when the blame game is initiated from government insiders. Does the university regulatory body the Commission for University Education (CUE) carry out regular audits? How come we have not heard about this mess from the Auditor General?

Fees earned from students are normally spent in three key areas which are infrastructure, remuneration top up, and recurrent expenditure. This is because government funding is always inadequate. This expenditure is always subjected to statutory oversight and it is the height of hypocrisy to suggest that academia could have gotten away with pilfering public funds unknown to government agencies for close to 2 decades!

Moneys paid to teaching and non-teaching staff is always subject to taxation and anyone can verify this with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) which is one agency with a reputation for being hawk-eyed when it comes to payouts.

That infrastructure development has exploded exponentially over the last two decades cannot be gainsaid. To start with the number of universities has risen beyond the wildest expectations of our founding fathers as crystallized in the Ominde Commission of 1964-1965.

Many critics keep harping on the problem of quantity rather than quality. But that is neither here nor there: expansion of campuses and universities is a natural response to political pressure to place more young Kenyans into university. If the motivation is political mileage in the form of votes so be it. It was not for nothing that the 10 BC writer of Ovid’s Heroides stated ‘Exitus acta probat’ freely translated ‘the end justifies the means’!

Critics should look around the country and convince themselves that the money has been put to good use. Tenders are being issued as fast as they can be approved in every university. The University of Nairobi has put up that Iconic Tower. And why not? It is the oldest university in Kenya; it’s merely 60 years of existence notwithstanding. Kenyatta University has rid itself of its British Barracks look and every one of the more than 70 universities is spending a considerable proportion of its income in securing our students in the aftermath of the Garissa University terrorist attack.

If not for anything else our VCs and their teams should be congratulated for enhancing security across all campuses countrywide.