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Education Cabinet secretary George Magoha has denied any plan to merge 32 public universities saying it is a figment of imagination and creation of the media.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Education and Research, Prog Magoha said in the university reforms programme, the amalgamation of 32 public universities and closure of their satellite campuses is not one of his agenda.

“University merger does not exist in my radical changes. It is a fraction of imagination of the press and the people who brought it before the committee,” he said.

“What we have is mainstreaming of management of all our public universities, courses and programmes offered by the same institutions,” Magoha added.

In his proposed university public financial and management systems plan, Magoha wants to implement radical measures that will include merger or closure of some universities not able to sustain their operations against the number of students admitted or degrees offered.

Adversely affected

Since 2016, several campuses were shut down after lower entry grade cut the student population, adversely affecting parallel degree programmes in which students paid fees based on market rates.

Last month, Magoha asked vice chancellors of public universities to come up with a merger plan. 

In their proposal, they rejected the idea saying it was not a priority. In a 60-page document submitted to the CS, the executives of 31 public universities proposed that institutions be increased to 100, saying that by 2030, close to one million students will be joining universities.