Back Migosi's directive to all vice-chancellors with immediate disbursement

When Julius Migosi took an oath of office as the Education Cabinet Secretary at State House Nairobi. [PCS]

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migosi has directed all public universities to unconditionally admit students who qualified for admission during the selection exercise. This directive comes amid confusion and a growing chorus of complaints about the new university funding model.

Many parents and students continue to express fear that the new funding model is skewed against those from humble backgrounds. Early this week, some of the students interviewed by the media complained about being placed in funding categories their families do not fit in, in terms of monthly earnings.

The new university funding model has five categories for loans, each level determined by a household’s income. Level one covers households with an income below Sh5995. Level 2 is for those who earn between Sh5995 and Sh23670 per month. Level 3 is for families that earn between Sh23671 and Sh70000 monthly, while level 4 is for those who earn between Sh70000 and 119999. Level 5 is for those whose income is above Sh120000 per month.

Migos’ order also comes at a time when the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) has issued a strike notice over delayed and incomplete salary payments, even as universities prepare to open doors for freshers and continuing students next month. 

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) have also warned they will begin industrial action on August 26, the week schools are scheduled to open doors for third-term studies. Their grouse with the government is failure to honour the 2021-2025 Comprehensive Bargaining Agreement and delayed capitation that has crippled operations in secondary schools, especially. 

While it is easy for Migos to make such an order to Vice Chancellors, the reality is that universities need money to operate.  New admissions come with enhanced demands, so, while the government is putting itself in good stead by appearing to care about students, it is passing the burden to universities that are ill-equipped financially to handle the burden. 

Already, universities are jointly reeling under a Sh75 billion debt in pending bills. Moreover, the government still owes universities Sh147 billion, an admission former Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu made before the parliamentary education committee. What guarantees are in place that the government will release this money in time to enable operations in universities to go on smoothly? Is it simply buying time?

Time and again, the government has said the economy is underperforming, and that the coffers at the Treasury are dry. It is the reason the government hiked and introduced new taxes to raise revenue, but ran into headwinds when Gen Z and the entire populace objected to the Finance Bill 2024 and called for its total withdrawal. 

There is a need for more seriousness and genuine commitment from the government to give the education sector the much-needed boost to keep it on the level and running. There is no other equaliser bigger than education, which is why the playing field must be levelised.