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{
    "id": 1183390,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1183390/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 52,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kamukunji, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Yusuf Hassan",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 398,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Hassan Abdi",
        "slug": "yusuf-hassan-abdi"
    },
    "content": "public universities. The current Government funding criteria for state sponsored students is the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) where the Government is expected to shoulder 80 per cent of the tuition fees cost per student and the rest is covered by the student. It is notable that the current flat rate fee structure fee paid by students has been in place since the 1980s. Therefore, public universities depend on the Exchequer for survival. Owing to the acute financial crisis, the University of Nairobi was recently forced to raise tuition and accommodation fees in a bid to stay afloat. Egerton University has experienced a shutdown of its main campus after industrial action by its lecturers and staff over unpaid salaries. Other universities have been forced to close various campuses in restructuring efforts. There have been pronouncements from the Executive pointing towards a blanket withdrawal of funding to public universities, with calls of them to look to other sources of revenue. The overall impact of such an action will jeopardise the existence of these institutions and paralyse higher education system, denying many students, particularly those from poor backgrounds, a much needed opportunity. It is on this account that I seek a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Education and Research on: 1. What steps is the government taking to financially evaluate and audit all public universities to ascertain the extent of their debt burden? 2. What restructure measures is the government pursuing to prevent further accumulation of arrears by public universities and to redeem them to solvency by ensuring that there is adequate funding? 3. How does the government intend to involve all stakeholders concerned in implementing a turnaround measure for public universities to ensure their sustainability? 4. What plans does the government have to improve tertiary education system and make public universities more effective and more competitive? I thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker."
}