Education Cabinet Secretary, Julius Ogamba, has inaugurated a new council at Kenyatta University, underscoring the government’s push to steady public universities and carry through a broad reform agenda.
At a ceremony on Tuesday, Mr Ogamba said university councils were “where governance begins” and pledged state support to ensure they operate “without fear or favour.”
The changes come at a time when public universities are grappling with years of mounting debt. Mr Ogamba pointed to progress, noting that the number of technically insolvent institutions had fallen from 23 to 14 since President William Ruto’s administration took office. The aim, he said, was to restore full financial sustainability across all 43 universities within three years.
Part of the turnaround plan is the student-centred funding model introduced last year, coupled with fee cuts of between 15 and 40 percent. The approach, he argued, has eased the burden on students while boosting compliance.
“At Kenyatta University, of the 10,480 new students admitted, more than 9,500 have already paid their fees,” he said. Similar trends, he added, were being reported at Meru and Machakos universities.
The government has pledged to step in where students cannot pay. “No deserving student will be locked out of higher education because of financial challenges,” Mr Ogamba said.
Looking ahead, he announced a national education conference in Mombasa next week to align university programmes with job market needs. The ministry is also carrying out a nationwide audit of student and school records after the Auditor-General raised concerns over the accuracy of basic education data. More than 15,000 schools have already been verified, according to Mr Ogamba.
“This verification will enable us to plan better and avoid past challenges with delayed or insufficient capitation,” he said. “Once the exercise is complete, we will have reliable data to make more effective decisions.”
Kenyatta University Council chair, Dr Ben Chumo, welcomed the new appointees, stressing the institution’s pivotal role in Kenya’s education sector. The university has nearly 50,000 students on its rolls.
The appointments, observers say, reflect the government’s wider bid to tighten governance and secure the future of public higher education.
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