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HomeEDUCATIONPublic Universities' Pending Bills Soar to Ksh.62 Billion in Latest Report

Public Universities’ Pending Bills Soar to Ksh.62 Billion in Latest Report

Public Universities’ Pending Bills Soar to Ksh.62 Billion in Latest Report

According to the latest National Government Budget Implementation Review Report, public universities are facing an escalating debt crisis, with pending bills soaring to Ksh.62 billion for the first six months of the financial year 2023/24. This marks a significant increase from the Ksh.60 billion reported in September of the previous year.

Among the 42 institutions of higher learning grappling with this mounting debt, Kenyatta University leads the list, with outstanding bills amounting to Ksh.11.7 billion.

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Following closely are the Technical University of Kenya at Ksh.8.2 billion and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) at Ksh.8.1 billion. Egerton University and Moi University also find themselves burdened with substantial debts of Ksh.7.8 billion and Ksh.7.5 billion, respectively.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, both schools and public universities have struggled to recover, facing the imminent threat of collapse.

The increasing debt compounds the challenges faced by these universities, hindering their ability to meet obligations such as KRA payments, PAYE, and workers’ pension schemes.

Consequently, numerous campuses have been forced to shut down, and there have been defaults on statutory obligations and payments to contractors.

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Last September, the Ministry of Education initiated discussions with the Treasury to explore ways of alleviating a portion of the debt owed by public universities to the KRA.

The Controller of Budget’s report also highlighted other ministries with substantial pending bills, including Roads and Transport at Ksh.178 billion, Energy at Ksh.87 billion, Education (encompassing universities) at Ksh.62 billion, and Agriculture at Ksh.35 billion.

As of December 2023, the total outstanding bills for Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies have reached Ksh.447.3 billion, underscoring the severity of the financial challenges faced by various sectors.

Public Universities’ Pending Bills Soar to Ksh.62 Billion in Latest Report

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