State’s New Plan to Clear Universities’ Debt
State’s New Plan to Clear Universities’ Debt. However, the chairman of the University Funding that this will not be enough to pay off the current debt. “We are looking at diversifying the revenue streams of universities, beyond the single revenue stream of government-sponsored student grants,” he said. This was quite challenging as the vice-chancellors kept asking for more funding.
Further reforms
In order to update the infrastructure, the University Fund proposes to mandate public-private partnerships between businesses and higher education institutions. According to Monari, institutions would have to use this strategy when building student accommodation.
This project, in which the university provides land on which a private investor can build a college, the investor gains control of it for a predetermined period of time, and then the investor transfers ownership of it to the institution, has been explained using the construct-manage-transfer paradigm.
It is also recommended that universities develop their capacity to generate their own electricity so that they can rely less on power from Kenya.
As one of the main factors contributing to student debt in higher education, Monari advises academic institutions to invest in sustainable energy sources such as solar power.
In addition to saving millions of dollars, Monari says institutions may be able to make money by cutting those expenses.
Monari offered Strathmore University as an example, noting that the institution is classified as one of the independent energy suppliers to KPLC in addition to generating its own electricity.
The idea of universities making money through consulting services was also promoted. According to Monari, this would be done by academics from various colleges as they are qualified to offer specialized expertise needed by various businesses.
According to Monari, they are asking government organizations to limit counseling to public universities only. Institutions will have to provide advisory services to government agencies in this way.
We are in favor of legislation that would allow universities to offer consultancy services for up to 30% of government services, the source said. Universities will also need to commercialize their research concepts to obtain funding.