The Ministry of Education has admitted that persistent delays and underfunding of capitation have plunged universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and teacher training colleges into financial distress, as MPs demanded accountability over stalled projects, declining enrolment and mounting debts.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education (PIC-G&E), Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba acknowledged that chronic funding shortfalls remain the biggest challenge facing tertiary institutions but assured lawmakers that reforms are underway to address the crisis.
CS Ogamba, accompanied by Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr Beatrice Inyangala, TVET Principal Secretary Dr Esther Thaara Muoria, Universities Fund Acting Chief Executive Dr Edwin Wanyonyi and HELB Chief Executive Geoffrey Monari, was responding to Auditor-General’s reports for the 2018/19 to 2024/25 financial years.
The audit reports flagged delayed capitation, stalled infrastructure projects, weak financial management, declining TVET enrolment, unaccounted government equipment and growing financial instability across public institutions.
Challenges Kenyan universities, TVETs are facing
MPs painted a grim picture of institutions struggling with shrinking enrolment, unpaid bills and abandoned projects.
Kilome MP Thaddeus Nzambia said enrolment in several TVET institutions had dropped sharply, with some colleges declining from about 800 students to barely 300, while others had fallen from more than 700 learners to about 200.
“The principals consistently point to delayed capitation as the major reason students are dropping out. This was a good programme meant to equip young people with technical skills, but the current trend is worrying,” Nzambia said.
Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje also questioned why institutions continued to face funding shortages despite government assurances that capitation had been released. He further raised concern over a Ksh 28.9 billion funding gap facing universities, saying students were increasingly relying on Constituency Development Fund bursaries and HELB loans to stay in school.
“Students are under immense pressure, especially when examinations approach. Universities require predictable funding instead of leaving students to depend on bursaries that cannot adequately meet tuition costs,” Mwenje said.
Stalled projects in Kenyan universities
In addition, Lunga Lunga MP Chiforomodo Mangale Munga questioned why institutions continued launching new projects while older ones remained incomplete despite consuming billions of shillings.
Kasipul MP Boyd Were cited Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University, where projects worth more than Ksh 3 billion have stalled for years, raising concerns over value for money.
Luanda MP Dick Maungu, who chairs the committee directed the ministry to tighten controls to ensure institutions complete ongoing projects before embarking on new ones. He also questioned why some colleges were storing hundreds of unused sewing machines while neighbouring institutions lacked similar equipment.
Responding, CS Ogamba admitted that the ministry has consistently received less funding than requested from the National Treasury, resulting in annual deficits.
“The challenge has been that whatever amount we request, because of financial constraints, we do not receive the full allocation. That creates annual deficits, except in the 2025/26 financial year where TVET capitation was fully disbursed as budgeted,” he said.
The CS said the government was preparing the proposed Tertiary Education Funding Bill, 2025, to create a sustainable financing framework by consolidating education funding into a single pool for equitable distribution.
He added that the ministry had adopted a policy barring institutions from starting new projects before completing existing ones, with priority being given to developments that are at least 85 per cent complete. Contracts for stalled projects caused by non-performing contractors would be terminated after legal review, with recovery proceedings initiated where public funds had been lost.
How many Kenyan universities are insolvent?
CS Ogamba also disclosed that when the Kenya Kwanza administration took office, 23 public universities were technically insolvent, but reforms had reduced that number to 11.
“We found 23 universities in the red. Through reforms and timely funding, we have reduced that number to 11, and we are working towards restoring all universities to financial stability,” he said.
The ministry has also directed universities to commercialise idle assets and encouraged TVET institutions to generate income through industry partnerships while auditing government-supplied equipment to facilitate redistribution of underutilised assets.
CS Ogamba dismissed claims that capitation for senior schools had been reduced from Ksh 22,244 to Ksh 14,000 per learner, insisting government policy remained unchanged and that efforts were focused on ensuring institutions receive the full allocation.
