The University of Nairobi (UoN) Vice-Chancellor Prof Stephen Gitahi Kiama has said the new fees structure will not affect students who have already enrolled on various academic programs at the university.
Speaking to local television on Monday, Kiama said the new changes will only affect new students who will be seeking admission at the university going forward.
“The fee increment is not for the students who are currently in session. Those students we already have a contract with them. But for those who will join in future you must pay the new fee guidelines,” he said
He also dismissed reports indicating that the fee was increased by 118 per cent saying the claims are not factual.
Kiama said the fees were increased based on differentiated unit cost as enshrined in the University Act 2012.
He stated that different academic program falls under different fee structure which also formed the basis of the amount increased on each academic program.
Kiama noted that the new changes aim at improving service delivery at varsity as well as the quality of education offered.
A spot check on the new fees structure of the university by K24 Digital revealed that the UoN doubled fees for some of its postgraduate courses and self-sponsored programs.
For instance, fees for a masters degree in communication which runs for two years was raised from Ksh275,000 to over Ksh600,000.
Fees for degree courses like law, bachelor of commerce and economics under the self-sponsored program have been raised to about Ksh1 million.
UoN argues that the review in tuition fees will see the university raise its revenue after a loss of over Ksh1 billion in fees in three years.
On Monday, the UoN Students Association issued a 48 hours ultimatum to the VC to rescind his decision.
The union termed the new changes as punitive and not affordable given that a number of students are currently struggling to foot their current fee increment.
