Thursday, 1 May, 2025
Embrace innovation to seal resource gap, Committee tells higher learning institutions๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐
The Public Investment Committee on Education and Governance, chaired by Hon. Wamboka Wanami (Bumula), has urged public higher learning institutions to embrace innovation and in-depth research to supplement government funding.
The Committee believes this move would help curb the challenges of stalled projects and prevent audit queries.
During a meeting at Bunge Tower convened to scrutinize audit queries flagged by the Auditor General, several members, including Hon. Kakai Bissau, advised the more than seven institutions present to properly utilize their land holdings to generate revenue.
โItโs high time institutions made good use of the many acres they own. This will enhance self-sustainability and ensure that graduates acquire practical, hands-on experience while still at the institution, avoiding situations where you churn out ill-prepared graduates,โ stated Hon. Kakai.
One issue that arose during the rigorous exercise was that many institutions did not appear with their predecessors to account for the different financial years that received a qualified opinion in the Auditor Generalโs reports. This prompted the committee chairperson to reschedule the appearances of three institutions, including Garissa University. These institutions are now scheduled to appear before the Committee after complying with the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act.
โWe conduct this audit verification exercise to ensure that public money is held to account by accounting officers. Therefore, as a Committee, we have a mandate to ensure that the law is followed to the letter, especially on matters of inclusivity for all tribes in Kenya and for people with disabilities, who are often forgotten,โ said Hon. Wamboka.
Further, the Committee noted the increasing number of students completing courses with outstanding arrears. They recommended that public institutions use technology to trace their alumni and recover these debts. The lawmakers noted that this would help eradicate cases of audit queries.