Kenya Government Approves Plan to Triple University Fees to Sh48,000

The government has approved a proposal by vice-chancellors to raise university fees threefold from the current Sh16,000 to Sh48,000.

Appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday, Treasury Principal Secretary Julius Muia said increasing university tuition fees was necessary to keep the institutions afloat.

“Our suggestion is that we increase tuition fee to Sh48,000, then raise bursary allocation for those students not able to raise that amount,” Muia told the committee.

While defending the move, PS Muia indicated that institutions of higher learning are currently experiencing financial woes, adding that hiking fees will help them achieve sustainability.

The current annual fee per government-sponsored student was set 30 years ago when the government paid three-quarters of the total fees of Sh102,000. 

But based on the differentiated unit cost (DUC) calculated in 2017, the cost of a degree program in Kenyan universities has climbed to about Sh250,000 yet students still pay the same amount they paid in 1989, vice-chancellors argue.

Speaking before the committee, public universities vice-chancellor's committee chair Geoffrey Maluvi said: “With the current average unit cost per student being Sh254,644, simply taking the current tuition fee of Sh16,000 against the nominal figure of Sh86,000 on a proportional basis to the current average unit cost, we have agreed that the student would have to pay an average figure of Sh47,376, which could theoretically be passed at Ksh48,000.”

To ensure students do not struggle to pay the new fees rates, vice-chancellors have suggested that the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) increases student loans to a minimum of Sh68,000.

The plan to increase varsity fees has sparked protests from both students and parents.