Public University Fees
PRESS RELEASE
(Issued under Article 35(3) of the Constitution)
Press Release
PUBLIC UNIVERSITY FEES
The
Media have carried reports attributed to some stakeholders as
expressing concern that the Government intends to increase University
fees for students attending public universities.
The
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology would like to state that
it has not sanctioned any university fee increment for any public
university.
Reports
about planned University fee increment are misleading and inaccurate.
Any such increase must be initiated by University Councils, deliberated
upon through a consultative process which should involve stakeholders
and approved by the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Science and
Technology. Key stakeholders in this process include Parliament, Senate,
Commission for University Education, Kenya Universities and Colleges
Central Placement Service Board, University students’ leadership and
parents. No such process has been started to this effect.
The
Universities Act, 2012 provides for the setting up of the Universities
Fund. The Universities Funding Board is the one to determine, in
consultation with the public universities, the maximum differentiated
unit cost for the academic programmes offered in public Universities.
The
Ministry wishes to clarify that Vice Chancellors of Public Universities
have been working on a model of differentiated Unit cost for financing
academic programmes in Public Universities especially through HELB. The
Kenya Association of Technical Training Institutions (KATTI) has also
initiated a similar exercise to determine the cost of academic
programmes under Technical, Vocation Education and Training (TVET)
Institutions. The aim is to determine the actual cost of the each degree
and diploma programme that Universities and tertiary institutions offer
and accordingly peg the cost of each programme on the unit cost. This
process has not been completed.
The Government would like to allay the fears of stakeholders, and particularly University students about the purported increase.
In
the spirit of inclusive consultations and in order to arrive at a
decision on this matter, the Ministry has met the leadership of the
National Universities Students’ Organization (NUSO) to inform them about
the true position of the matter. In this respect, all university
students are requested not to participate in any disruptive activities
especially at this time when many universities are having examinations.
PROF. JACOB T. KAIMENYI, PhD, FICD, EBS
DATE 19TH MAY, 2014
CC: Chairmen of University Councils
Vice-Chancellors all Public Universities
Chairman, Commission for University Education
NUSO
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