Ruto meets university VC's as funding woes cloud higher education
Education
By
Mike Kihaki
| Sep 18, 2025
President William Ruto on Thursday hosted vice-chancellors of public universities at State House, Nairobi, as persistent financial strain in Kenya’s higher education sector.
The talks, attended by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, Higher Education PS Beatrice Inyangala, HELB CEO Geoffrey Monari, and KUCCPS CEO Mercy Wahome, came at a tense moment.
The meeting comes at a time when the Universities’ Academic Staff Union (UASU) strike entered day two, protesting what it termed as unresolved disputes over collective bargaining agreements (CBAs).
Speaking after the meeting, President Ruto said Kenya’s universities were making “steady and demonstrable progress” in teaching and training human capital.
He pointed to the student-centred funding model, which has raised annual allocations from Sh44 billion in 2022 to Sh82 billion in the 2025–2026 financial year, as evidence that government is tackling financing challenges.
READ MORE
Global ratings agency casts doubt on Mbadi debt strategy
Strategic Nest unveils 2025 Leadership Award Honorees
Graft, bureaucracy threaten Kenya's Gulf investment hopes, experts warn
Nairobi coffee auction fetch Sh1 billion
Fintech milestone as Kenya joins Visa acquiring space
Maragua's Gakoigo stadium set for Sh700 million facelift
Kenya's hustle culture: How youth juggle jobs to stay afloat
How broke, hungry Kenyans are suffering in hands of shylocks
“Already, 10 of the 23 universities declared insolvent in 2022 have since improved their financial standing. Additionally, in the last financial year, the institutions raised KSh1 billion from income-generating activities,” Ruto said.
Yet behind the optimism, unresolved tensions were evident. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has previously warned that public universities remain weighed down by debts exceeding KSh4 billion, a backlog created by years of inadequate state funding.
He has even suggested outsourcing services as one way to ease the strain a proposal likely to have surfaced in the State House discussions.
University staff, however, argue that government has not honoured agreements in full. Education CS Julius Ogamba, in a separate statement, said the state has already released Sh2.73 billion toward the 2021–2025 CBA.
But UASU insists that the total owed for two CBAs is Sh10.5 billion. The resulting strike has paralyzed teaching and learning in public universities, threatening to derail the academic calendar and frustrate thousands of students.
After the meeting, Ogamba issued a statement calling for trunce as the government resolve their demands.
“The Government is committed to honouring its obligations. It is regrettable that the industrial action has disrupted learning despite the good faith and commitment we have demonstrated,” Ogamba said.
He confirmed that the Employment and Labour Relations Court had already interjected, ordering the strike suspended pending conciliation.
Thursday’s meeting therefore carried high stakes: striking a balance between stabilizing university finances and responding to the welfare demands of lecturers and staff.
This month, over 150,000 first year students have joined universities even before the government release funding following the disputed funding model.
Observers say vice-chancellors are caught in the middle tasked with managing institutions struggling to pay bills while also negotiating with an increasingly restive workforce.
The talks also came less than a week after President Ruto hosted leaders of basic education unions, signaling that unrest across the education sector has become a key political test for his administration.
Analysts suggest that unless sustainable solutions are reached, the new funding model may be overshadowed by constant labour disputes and debt overhangs.