Kenyan universities are increasingly seeking private investors to build new academic and residential facilities, as surging enrolments pile pressure on the cash- and space- strapped institutions. State-run universities especially aire bracing for student expansion as the government moves to have an extra 40,000 students admitted to clear a two-year backlog.

There is now a clear plan in motion to ease the higher education admissions crisis, with the joint admissions board announcing that institutions would admit one in three

Rather than one in four qualified school-leavers and the government upping funding for the sector.

Last week Masindo Muliro University of science and Technology, Kenya’s newest public university, invited investors to build hostels on its campuses to ease congestion in facilities as student numbers soar.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of finance and administration Professor Sibilikhe Makhanu said the institution was short of accommodation for 7,000 students.”the university plans to enter into long-term agreements with contractors to help build facilities” .

As numbers surge, universities are increasingly embracing new financing models, such as private equity funds, to meet the demand for insfrastructure. For the public universities, annual government funding has not matched the need for new facilities, meaning institutions have to tap fund from other sources like private investors to expand their infrastructure.

Last year Kenyatta University, the second biggest university by student numbers, said it was seeking an investor to pump $11 million into building academic and residential facilities. The investors are required to build and operate the facilities for between eight and 12 years before transferring ownership to the institution. During this period, they are expected to recoup their investment.

Higher education enrolments have been rising by around 40% annually for the past five years, while real subsidies have increased by 4% to 5% over the period.

Accordind to government figures, the number of students in public universities was 143,000 last year, up from 101,000 the previous year.

Educationist have warned that absorbing a much larger number of students would backfire if not accompanied by a commensurate rise in funding to enable institutions to expand educational and boarding infrastructure and hire extra tutors.

The government also recently moved to encourage private investment in higher education. From June last year, following amendments to the Income Tax Act, education facilities were added to the list of buildings that qualify for capital deduction, a tax break previously only enjoyed by investors in industrial buildings, hotels, mining, and plant and machinery.


The rise in student numbers and the subsequent of expansion of universities in East Africa’s biggest economy has also led to mushrooming of mega housing projects around universities, as developers cash in on demand for hostel facilities.