The Ministry of Education says plans are at an advanced stage to waive billions of shillings that cash-strapped universities owe the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

According to the Ministry, the issue had been raised with the Cabinet even as the government increased budgetary allocation to the higher institutes of learning.

This came as the Ministry announced that pending bills amounting to over Ksh.75 billion were being audited with plans to clear them in the coming months.

According to University Education and Research Principal Secretary Dr. Beatrice Muganda, the universities are out of the woods following the financial crunch that threatened their operations.

She said that under the new funding model, the government has increased budgetary allocation while working with KRA to waive some of the pending bills.

In the 2023/24 financial year, the government allocated Ksh.82 billion to the universities as part of development and expenditure in line with the new funding model.

President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Government has increased the total allocation by an additional 127 billion shillings in an effort to transform the education sector in the country.