An Act of Parliament to amend the Universities Act.
| PROPOSED PROVISION FOR AMENDMENT | PROPOSED AMENDMENT | OUR COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|
Clause 2 Amendment of section 53 of No. 42 of 2012 | The Universities Act (“the principal Act”) is amended in section 53 (4) by deleting paragraph (b). | Section 53 (4) (b) of the principal Act allows private universities to receive conditional grants and loans from the Universities Fund. We propose the retention of this clause. Issuing a conditional grant to a private university has the following advantages: a. a conditional grant is tied to maintaining certain academic standards. This encourages private universities to invest in improving the quality of education and its facilities; b. private universities must meet the conditions outlined in the conditional grant to receive funding. This fosters accountability, ensuring that the private universities use the funds appropriately to achieve the agreed-upon conditions; and c. private universities can be encouraged to engage with the local community through outreach programs, partnerships and initiatives that contribute to social and economic development. |
Clause 3 Amendment of section 54 of No. 42 of 2012 | Section 54 of the principal Act is amended in subsection (4) by: a. deleting paragraph (b) and substituting thereof the following new paragraph: (b) in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary, develop a transparent and fair criterion for the allocation of funds to public universities. b. deleting paragraph (c) and substituting thereof the following new paragraph: (c) apportion funds to public universities. | Section 54 (1) of the principal Act establishes a Board of Trustees consisting of nine members that will manage the Universities Fund. For clauses (1) (a) and (1) (d), we propose that the chairperson and the six people with knowledge and experience in financial matters are appointed by the Cabinet Secretary through a fair, transparent and competitive process. A fair, transparent and competitive appointment process ensures that candidates are evaluated based on their qualifications, skills and experience. This helps to attract and select the most suitable individual, contributing to the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the Board of Trustees. Secondly, this proposal ensures that appointments are done in a fair and transparent manner in accordance with the values and principles set out in the Constitution. |
We propose the retention of section 54 (4) (b) of the principal Act. Private universities must meet the conditions outlined in the conditional grant to receive funding from the Universities Fund. This fosters accountability, ensuring that the private universities use the funds appropriately and achieve the agreed-upon conditions. |
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Clause 4 Amendment of section 56 of No. 42 of 2012 | Section 56 (1) of the principal Act is amended by inserting the word “public” immediately before the word “universities” appearing in paragraph (a). | We propose the deletion of this clause. Currently, placement of students into public and private universities is done by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service. Therefore, ending the placement of students in private universities will have a detrimental effect as most form four graduates will be unable to join a public university due to the limited slots available. |