Written by Lisa Murimi
Kenya’s public universities are facing a financial meltdown, weighed down by mounting debts, poor funding, and internal mismanagement, threatening the future of higher education in the country.
A recent report by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o revealed that public universities and national polytechnics owe a staggering Sh67.81 billion.
The biggest debtors include Kenyatta University (Sh12.38 billion), University of Nairobi (Sh12.22 billion), and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Sh9.13 billion).
The debts, owed to suppliers, statutory bodies, pension funds, and contractors, have crippled daily operations. Learning is disrupted, salaries are delayed, and retrenchments are rising.
Moi University, once a major institution, is among the hardest hit with a Sh7.83 billion debt. It was closed for three months following staff unrest.
The government has since pledged a Sh2.9 billion bailout.
At the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), Vice Chancellor Benedict Mutua told MPs the university hasn’t paid full staff salaries since 2013.
With a wage bill of Sh 272 million and a monthly allocation of only Sh63.3 million, TUK is now considering retrenchment.
Medium and smaller universities are also deep in the red. Egerton University owes Sh7.69 billion, while Meru, Laikipia, and Kibabii universities owe hundreds of millions each.
Despite government assurances that no university will close, the crisis is worsening. Institutions have cut academic programmes, stalled projects, and scaled down research.
As reforms lag and funding dwindles, Kenya’s universities are day by day inching closer to collapse.
