How tuition fee cut is forcing universities to rethink survival strategies
The survival plans, anchored on numbers and increased government support, are designed to ensure universities continue to operate effectively despite losing a major share of tuition income.
Kenya’s public universities are laying out strategies to deal with the financial pressure created by sharp tuition fee cuts, which took effect on September 1.
The reductions, announced in July, slash charges by as much as 75 per cent, a move welcomed by parents but one that threatens the already fragile stability of many institutions struggling with debts, high wage bills, and delayed state funding.
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Higher Education PS Beatrice Inyangala explained that universities are relying on a mix of measures to stay afloat.
Among them are raising student admissions, maximising available facilities, and drawing more support from the government through scholarships, loans, and capitation.
“Basically, it is all in the numbers and economies of scale. Take a university graduating 1,000 students but admitting 3,000 new ones, the revenue gap is automatically bridged,” she said as quoted by the Star
She noted that for the 2025/26 academic year, universities could admit 316,309 students, yet only 183,789 were placed, leaving nearly half of the spaces unused.
The PS added that state support has increased sharply since the cuts came into force. Government allocations through loans, scholarships, and capitation grew from Sh45 billion in 2022-23 to Sh85 billion in 2025-26, which has helped many institutions regain stability.
Between 2022 and 2025, the number of universities considered technically insolvent dropped from 23 to 13. “Universities are gradually becoming more sustainable,” she said.
President William Ruto’s administration has insisted the changes are meant to ease the heavy financial load on families that have made university education inaccessible to many.
A review of fee structures shows sharp reductions across institutions under the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service, including the University of Nairobi, Moi University, Egerton University, Kenyatta University, Maseno University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, University of Eldoret, and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
At Moi University, the School of Education cut fees for fourth-year government-sponsored students by 76 per cent, dropping from Sh33,750 to Sh8,000 per semester.
A notice issued by the institution stated, “This fee is subject to revision at the sole discretion of the university.” At Maseno University, first-year students in the Bachelor of Arts in Criminology with IT programme are now paying Sh14,000 per semester, down from over Sh30,000.
The survival plans, anchored on numbers and increased government support, are designed to ensure universities continue to operate effectively despite losing a major share of tuition income.
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