Kenyatta University students have issued an ultimatum to the institution's management over the proposal to raise tuition fees.
University Administrators in public institutions had proposed a fee increment from the initial Ksh16,000 to Ksh48,000 per semester effective September, 2023.
However, Kenyatta University Students Orgarnisation - KUSO has called on the Universities Fund Board (UFB) Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Monari to reject the proposal.
The proposal has already been supported by the government with the Higher Education Principal Secretary Simon Nabukwesi revealing that the technical committee has already notified the Cabinet about the new proposal.
The Kenya Universities’ Students Organisation (KUSO) President Antony Muchui urged the University administrators to reject the hiking of fees saying that the move will deny many poor children an opportunity to access higher education.
"Children from poor families have a higher probability of dropping out of school than their counterparts from rich backgrounds," Muchui stated.
He further claimed that University administrators had proposed to triple fees from Ksh16,000 to Ksh48, 000 during a meeting held in Mombasa last month.
Additionally, the move to revise fees upward comes at a time when public universities have decried poor enrollment of private sponsorship students who previously were their financial backbone.
The move to increase fees will cost the government Ksh870.8 Million per year and Ksh3.5 Billion in four academic years. Currently, the government pays Ksh70,000 while the student pays Ksh16,000.
On the other hand, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union - KMPDU had protested a move by the University of Nairobi to effect fee increment.
In 2010, the government had backed the recommendation that public universities should double their fees and increase interests paid on Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) but faced opposition from student unions.
Public universities have lately come under financial strain as a result of a higher number of student enrolment, this is after the government lowered the university entry grade to C+. The universities have also faced low state funding and mismanagement that have made them financially viable.
