Public universities drowning in Ksh.62B debt - Report

Public universities continue to sink deeper in debt with their pending bills rising to Ksh.62 billion, according to the latest National Government Budget Implementation Review Report.

The report, for the first six months of the financial year 2023/24, showed some 42 institutions of higher learning have been buckling under the growing debt that went up from Ksh.60 billion last September.

A closer look at the numbers shows Kenyatta University leading the pack owing Ksh.11.7 billion in pending bills, followed by Technical University of Kenya with Ksh.8.2 billion, then Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) at Ksh.8.1 billion.

According to the report, Egerton University and Moi University owe Ksh.7.8 billion and Ksh.7.5 billion respectively.

Since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic period, schools and public universities haven’t been able to recover, with many on the verge of collapse.

The climbing debt has exacerbated an already dire situation for varsities that have been unable to pay KRA, PAYE, and workers’ pension schemes.

This has seen them shut down several campuses and default on statutory obligations and payments to contractors.

Last September, the Ministry of Education engaged the Treasury on ways to waive part of the debt public universities owed the KRA.

Also in that report by the Controller of Budget were other ministries quoted with Roads and Transport owing Ksh.178 billion in pending bills, followed by Energy with Ksh.87 billion, Education, which encompasses universities, with Ksh.62 billion and Agriculture at Ksh.35 billion.

The total for pending bills by Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies stands at Ksh.447.3 billion as of December 2023.