How Sh70b debt, leadership rows are crumbling public varsities

A silent but devastating crisis is unfolding in public universities, threatening to cripple institutions that were once beacons of academic excellence. 

The near-collapse of Moi University appears to be the tip of the iceberg, with at least five other universities now facing unprecedented financial, governance, and leadership challenges.

The revelation that the universities are reeling under a debt burden of over Sh70 billion is not shocking as the narrative has been the same over the years.

The debts are accumulated from unpaid statutory deductions from teaching and non-teaching staff.

Beatrice Inyangala, the Principal Secretary in charge of Higher Education while appearing before National Assembly Committee on Education acknowledged the troubles facing universities, indicating that the ministry is mitigating and dealing with the arising issues.

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Inyangala noted that the government has laid a three-pillar plan to try and streamline operations and ensure sustainability of universities.

In the plan, she told MPs, there’s strengthening governance and management, cost-cutting measures and then a diversification of funding streams.

The university funding dilemma saw Vice Chancellors of public universities meet in Naivasha last week for a two-day biennial conference looking to create diverse revenue streams for universities.

Inyangala said the Naivasha meeting would provide suggestions for cost-cutting.

“We shall receive a report of what has been achieved and then we will set targets for the next year,” she said.

Over the years, several high-level meetings have been held in Mombasa, Nairobi and Naivasha, each with heavy resolution on how to get the institutions from the woods.

Implementation of the findings and resolutions have always dimmed any prospects of correcting the mess.

Recently, university bosses held on the controversial new university funding model that they said was putting more money in the institutions.

But this model has also been through away by the courts, pushing the universities to their original place, of debts and management crisis.

The same pattern of leadership wrangles, financial mismanagement, and inadequate funding is once again spreading across public universities — raising urgent questions about the future of higher education.

But how did the country’s public universities — once hailed as custodians of knowledge— reach this point? Are the ongoing financial and leadership troubles isolated cases, or are they symptoms of a deeper structural failure.

The crisis across several public universities mirrors the steady decline of Moi University  — one of Kenya’s oldest and most reputable institutions.

For years, Moi University struggled with ballooning debt, delayed staff salaries, and internal mismanagement.

By the time the institution was temporarily shut down in 2023, the signs had been clear for years — but little action was taken.

Now, as other universities follow the same trajectory, the crisis raises a critical question: Did the government and higher education regulators learn anything from the near collapse of Moi University?

The University of Nairobi — Kenya’s oldest and most prestigious university — has become the latest battleground of leadership wrangles.

The removal of Vice Chancellor Prof Stephen Kiama by the university council in September 2024 ignited a management crisis that has now dragged the institution into court battles and political scrutiny.

National Assembly Education Committee has sounded the alarm, warning that University of Nairobi risks following the path of Moi University if urgent interventions are not made.

“We saw what happened with Moi University. We warned about it, but it still sank. We cannot allow University of Nairobi to follow the same path,” Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera told the committee during a heated session in February.

The MPs led by Julius Melly (Tinderet), heard that the university council had encroached management functions and recommended for its dissolution.

The lawmakers have also summoned the Education CS Julius Ogamba to respond to the leadership crisis.

The MPs laid the blame on the Ministry of Education for failure to act amid the leadership tussle in the university.

The recommendations of the MPs saw the dismissal of University of Nairobi Council chairman Prof Amukowa Anangwe.

In a gazette notice, Ogamba dismissed Amukowa Anangwe from his position as Chairperson of the University of Nairobi (UoN) Council, effective February 21, 2025.

Anangwe’s dismissal came as a win to University of Nairobi lecturers who had earlier in the week threatened to go on strike.

He however contested the decision in court and the court have so far suspended the removal of Amukowa Anangwe as the chairman of the council and also suspended the implementation of a 24-month transformation plan by the chancellor.

With the institution still without substantive leadership, the long-term implications of the power struggle remain unclear.

The Technical University of Kenya, also seems to be weighed down by decades of financial woes.

The institution has been subject of protests by students and lecturers, frustrating teaching and learning at the institution.

At some point, the institution mounted a purge on staff, a matter that collapsed, seemingly been rolled out based in a not well thought out manner or anchored on facts.

Appearing before National Education Committee, TUK Vice Chancellor Prof. Benedict Mutua painted a grim picture of the institution’s finances.

According to Prof. Mutua, the university has been unable to pay full staff salaries since 2013 — leaving hundreds of employees grappling with unpaid loans and mounting debts.

“I want this to be clear on record that the challenges at the Technical University of Kenya is because of non-payment of salaries. That goes back to 2013,” Prof. Mutua told MPs.

The university’s monthly wage bill stands at Sh256 million, yet the government only provides Sh63.3 million in capitation — forcing the institution to rely on student fees to bridge the gap.

The new Higher Education Funding model — rolled out in 2023 — has further worsened the situation, with universities now receiving capitation based on the number of government-sponsored students.

But how did TUK’s financial problems go unnoticed for over a decade? Why did the Ministry of Education continue pumping money into a sinking ship without demanding accountability?

University and Academic Staff Union (UASU) argues that the institution’s struggles point to systemic gaps in the government’s oversight of university finances — a problem that appears to cut across many public universities.

At the coast, the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) is still reeling from a two-week workers’ strike that paralysed learning in February.

The strike was triggered by long-standing financial grievances, including non-remittance of statutory deductions, delayed salaries, and partial implementation of the 2017-2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

Although the strike was called off after negotiations, the agreement reached with the university management merely offered temporary relief — not a long-term solution.

Leadership wrangles are also quietly brewing at TUM, with growing concerns over the institution’s governance structures.

Unlike University of Nairobi or TUK, the troubles at TUM have not yet exploded into a full-blown crisis.

But the unresolved financial grievances signal a ticking time bomb that could plunge the institution into chaos.

At Kenyatta University, there seems to be a leadership Vacuum that has persisted since Vice Chancellor Prof. Paul Wainaina proceeded on indefinite leave in April 2024.

Although the university council appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Waceke Wanjohi as acting VC, the circumstances surrounding Wainaina’s departure remain murky.

The Sunday Standard has established that Prof. Wainaina could be preparing to challenge his removal in court — a move that could further destabilize the institution.

Kenyatta University has been no stranger to leadership wrangles.

In 2022, Prof. Wainaina was dramatically reinstated after a standoff with former President Uhuru Kenyatta over the university’s land.

Now, with the university once again in limbo, questions are emerging over whether the institution is headed for yet another protracted leadership battle.

Lat week, a media briefing called by unions to discuss status of the university and to demand answers was cancelled in what seemed as a postponement of a matter that will soon explode.

At the heart of the crisis in the public universities is the perennial issue of underfunding.