Public universities drown in over Ksh.100 billion debt, MPs demand answers

Higher Education PS Dr Beatrice Inyangala told Parliament that the mounting debts are choking the universities, prompting MPs to demand urgent answers from the ministry.

Meanwhile, the ministry is seeking Parliament’s approval for a Ksh.14.36 billion supplementary budget to keep operations running smoothly.

Appearing before Parliament’s education committee, the state department for education laid bare its financial situation, revealing a massive funding gap that threatens the future of thousands of students.

To bridge that gap, at least until the next financial year, the department wants Parliament to approve an additional Ksh.14.3 billion.

At the heart of the request is a staggering Ksh.43.6 billion total budget gap facing the Higher Education Loans Board for the current and upcoming financial years. This gap has left more than 450,000 students unable to access financial support. Lecturers’ collective bargaining agreements also require nearly Ksh.4 billion to settle arrears.

But it isn’t the pressing funding issue that occupied the committee on Wednesday. Members of the committee also took issue with rising pending bills owed by public universities, now nearing Ksh.100 billion as of the end of last year, while those for private universities have doubled over the same period.

"Now you are arriving here with a figure of Ksh.60 billion when the owners are saying they are being owed 32. You are seeing why we are not happy with you. The pending bills thing, we are throwing it back to you. We want to resolve this, but you are making it murkier for us by giving us incorrect figures," Julius Melly, chair of the education committee of Parliament, stated.

Dr Beatrice Inyangala also appeared before the committee to explain the ministry’s position.

Among the universities with the bulk of these debts are Egerton University with Ksh.25.5 billion in unpaid bills, University of Nairobi with Ksh.17 billion, Kenyatta University with Ksh.12.8 billion, and Moi University with Ksh.10.4 billion. Even amid these stifling bills, the ministry was hard-pressed to explain why one university was allocated Ksh.600 million.

"The PS was on record that they made a request of one billion that was not honoured, yet Treasury gave Ksh.600 million ring-fenced for one university, while there are 32 public universities," an MP stated.

MPs also questioned stalled projects across universities, including those in Nairobi, Moi, Egerton, and Laikipia, while criticising continued allocation to fund new ones that remain incomplete, leaving students without support.

"We have stalled projects and we are still funding others, including others Hon. Mauungu has asked about. Yet as a state department, we are still not able to fund HELB and scholarships," Clive Gesaro, MP, stated.

The Education Committee is expected to review these estimates in the coming days as the government weighs its priorities against a tightening national budget.