Universities pending bills hit Sh75bn

 

Public universities owe statutory bodies and other creditors Sh75 billion in pending bills, a figure that has doubled in two years.

The revelation comes at a time when the government is moving to a new funding model that appears headed for headwinds, less than a year after it was unveiled, following delays in disbursement.

The institutions expect to receive Sh11.9 billion from the Exchequer for students in their first year of study. Only Sh7.97 billion had been received by the Universities Fund (UF) by the end of last week.

The CEO of the UF said that public universities had been issued with promissory letters that the funds would be disbursed immediately they are received. It has also emerged that continuing government-sponsored students in private universities are dropping out because the government has not paid their tuition fees.

By ERIC MATARA