Universities that have received students through the national placement system could be forced to account for millions of shillings in unpaid fees after MPs demanded details of institutions that owe KUCCPS about Sh500 million.
The National Assembly Education Committee has directed the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) to submit a list of universities that have failed to pay the Sh1,500 placement fee charged for every student assigned to them.
The committee raised the issue after learning that several institutions had not honoured the one-off payment despite students already being placed in their programmes.
Education Committee chairperson and Tinderet MP Julius Melly questioned why universities were yet to remit the money after receiving learners through the placement process.
“Which universities owe you and how much? You have placed students so why do they owe you? When universities ask for money, it shows that students are already in, which is criminal,” he said.
Melly said the placement agency has an administrative responsibility of keeping the government informed about where students have secured admission.
He said KUCCPS has been given the authority to carry out the placement exercise and that universities are expected to pay the prescribed fee for the service.
The issue came up when KUCCPS chief executive Dr Mercy Wahome appeared before the committee to explain the outstanding payments.
Wahome said some universities have defended their failure to pay by claiming that some of the students allocated to them did not eventually report to the institutions.
She, however, pointed out that the number of students reported by universities tends to rise when the same institutions seek financial support from the Universities Fund.
The disagreement over student numbers has led KUCCPS to take a tougher approach to the release of placement information.
Wahome said the agency this year decided not to give universities the placement lists until they had committed themselves to meeting their financial obligations.
“This year we were strict on them. Students got the messages of institutions they were placed in but the universities did not get the list until they paid the commitment fee they have charged students, so it’s just remitting it,” Wahome told the House team.
She said the agency's position was aimed at ensuring universities honour the payment linked to the placement of students.
Wahome further informed the MPs that KUCCPS is preparing a debt policy to guide how institutions will settle outstanding amounts.
Under the planned policy, universities will be required to commit to agreed payment plans as the agency seeks to address the growing debt.
The Education Committee now expects KUCCPS to provide details of the universities involved and the specific amounts owed by each institution.