- This has had the effect of curtailing the career development of young Kenyans.
- The genuinely needy sometimes find themselves in the “well-off” category and receive no aid.
Image: LEAH MUKANGAI
Soon after assuming office, President William Ruto sought to establish new policy frameworks for public service provision. The strategy was intended to align government operations to the new economic development philosophy of BETA. The Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda aimed at uplifting the vulnerable cadres in the economic ladder. Policies were therefore developed targeting the empowerment of the lower social echelons in the economic strata. In sum total the Kenya Kwanza administration was determined to address the deep inequalities that existed in the country. There are wide gaps in the economic means within the various social classes. The upper class continues to grow exponentially rich by inappropriately accumulating excessive wealth. At the same time the poor have no avenues to escape the biting poverty and therefore have sunk deeper into lives of penury.
Quality social services are out of reach of majority of the citizens. The education sector has been the greatest casualty. Higher education and training have become elusive for many Kenyans locally. This has been caused largely by limited access because of the structure of financing university and tertiary education and training. While the cost of basic education at primary and secondary levels went down over the last twenty years, that of university education remained prohibitively high. Large numbers of students who qualify to join university have found themselves unable to undertake their courses of choice. over the years This has had the effect of curtailing the career development of young Kenyans. Attempts to provide mitigating measures through the many bursaries at the county and constituency levels have not been effective. They have been marred by corruption and ineptitude.
The government thus recently proposed a new funding model for university education. It is student centered as opposed to centered on the university payroll and development cost. It arose from the recommendations of the presidential working committee on education established under Prof Raphael Munavu. Its main plank is premised on the understanding that not all parents of university students have equal earnings. That the government should not bear the burden of funding students whose parents can afford to pay the cost of university education. It is expected that this would free up funds to support the needy students. Further the model proposes to allocate resources based on the estimated cost of the respective courses. It is worth noting that not all course programmes cost the same in terms of time and infrastructure requirements. The universities are then expected to apply the resources prudently to offer quality teaching and research services to the students and the general public.
The new model is currently in its second year. However, the ministry has had to suspend its full implementation twice. It has run into headwinds. There has been an uproar from the public and parliament recently, weighed in by declaring it non-implementable. To determine the levels of funding for each student, the model uses a means testing instrument. The instrument categorises students into five bands. The banding is derived from the student’s parents’ economic status using set parameters. The economic status in this case is dependent on the earnings of the parents. The most vulnerable parents are grouped in band one while the least needy of the parents are categorized in band five. Students whose parents fall in band one receive the highest levels of funding but those in five get the least. Those in bands two, three and four get graduated support, as the case may be. It is expected that once the status is established, then the University Fund Board disburses the funds to the universities in respect of each student.
However, at these initial stages it has emerged that the process is not as robust as earlier anticipated. Many students who are genuinely needy and require full government support have found themselves in bands four and five. This unfortunate results have led to widespread condemnation of the means testing instrument. It does not help matters that some parents who are generally considered to be well off have banded in category one. This could have been attributed to human and statistical error if they were isolated cases. The students have since come out in their numbers to reject the system. Already at the University of Nairobi, and the student union organized protests through public demonstrations. Other universities may soon join in the fray if nothing is done to remedy the situation.
At another level, the universities are facing a cash crunch. The Universities Funds Board does not release the funds in time. And when it does, the funds are remitted in portions as tranches. Already the universities were caving in under the weight of accumulated debts. The Vice-Chancellors have therefore not been able to meet the statutory obligations of the universities. Salaries are paid late and sometimes in bits. The staff unions have thus threatened industrial action. In some of these institutions, there is an unofficial go slow. Staff are demotivated and the lethargy is commonplace.
The natural consequence of the current situation is that the quality of academic enterprise will be grossly undermined. Kenya risks sliding behind other countries in higher education, training and research. Already the universities have not fared well in the recent international rankings. Makerere University which previously was below our premier University of Nairobi in July was ranked way ahead by Webometrics. Many of the universities have not been able to be ranked in the key aspects of international standards in academic profiling University education, being a sensitive and critical component of national development, relies heavily on government support. While pundits and government officials have variously blamed the university leadership for lacking in strategic vision and efficiency, the resources available have not quite matched the demands. The student population has been growing at a higher rate. This has led to the need for more staff and learning infrastructure. Development needs and global trends have necessitated introduction of new programmes that are technology-oriented.
To address the many challenges that the universities face currently, the government must find the correct model to address the funding crisis. The old model has been established to be outmoded and unsustainable. It pegged the capitation to universities on the basis of budgetary history. It was therefore easily susceptible to manipulation by government mandarins at the National Treasury and Jogoo House. The current model should therefore be interrogated further to identify the weak links. Implementation matrices should be introduced that ensure all students who qualify to study at university are not unduly disadvantaged. Parameters for assessment should be objective and sensitive to local economic environment. Students should be supported to study courses of their choice not on the basis of financial ability of the parents. Instead each student should be encouraged and supported to study the courses for which they qualify have desire and merit.
Additionally, the government should make available adequate resources to put up modern learning and research infrastructure in the public universities. This is the only way that universities will be able to mount globally competitive courses. Uptake of cutting-edge technology in academic delivery is still not optimal. With the necessary support, the universities will engage in research that would spur innovation to support national development endeavours. The most important justification for the urgent call to review the funding model is its rejection by the key stakeholders. Currently there are many students who missed their university placements because of lack of funds for upkeep and tuition fees. These students are already adult citizens and of sound mind. It is a great injustice to tie their fate and future on the economic circumstances of their parents. The intention by the students and lecturers to engage in civil disobedience is a threat to the stability of the universities. Coming soon after the Gen Z protests, it might as well snowball into a national crisis.
Political and public policy analyst