| Strathmore now a Chartered University |
It was jubilation at Strathmore University's Graduation Square on Wednesday, 23rd April as President Mwai Kibaki awarded the University a Charter."The stewardship of Kenya's corporate sector owes much gratitude to Strathmore... not just for its ability to supply qualified accountants, but also for the high level of professionalism by past graduates of this institution," the President said. View President's speech.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga who is also the area Member of Parliament said Strathmore was an Ivy League university and was the crown in the jewel of the constituency which he said has very high social disparities. He hailed Strathmore for taking an active role to uplift the social conditions in the neighbourhood. "The granting of a charter to Strathmore is not a just a recognition of the University's legal status but a recognition of the high standards the University has set and achieved," said the Minister for Higher Education Dr Sally Kosgei. The Chairman of Commission for Higher Education (CHE) Prof Kihumba Thairu said Strathmore had set quality standards for universities in the country by being the first university to be ISO certified. Students in degree programs in the University can now access loans from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). The University's Pro-Chancellor Monsignor Albert Pampillon charted the future of the University when he remarked: "If the award of the Charter is a credential of maturity, we want do look at it as well as a challenge for what lies ahead. Today we are not crossing the finishing line that might lead to a well deserved rest. No, today we begin again, we begin a new race, we are challenged by what is still to be done by means of our work in and from the University." And the University Vice Chancellor Prof John Odhiambo highlighted some of the policy impediments private universities are facing. . "These include the classification of education as a tradable commodity by the World Trade Organization and the reunification of the East African Community. This has resulted in a more competitive environment. In many cases, universities from the other member countries of the East African Community are able to provide educational opportunities at a much lower tuition rate. Ugandan tuition rate is considerably lower than that in Kenya. Tanzania is already offering tax incentives to higher education institutions that also will facilitate lower rates. These conditions make Kenyan educational market non-competitive," the VC said. The VC proposed a strategy based on three tax incentives that will assist private universities to flourish in this increasingly competitive environment. The first is excluding education tuition waiver from taxation. "Many private universities provide this benefit which allows the staff and their families to attend classes in their institutions without paying full tuition. This is geared towards ensuring that the staff and families do not miss educational opportunities for lack of funds. Since the universities only incur a marginal cost for educating these families, the benefit has been a worthy effort and should be encouraged," he said. "The waiver also supports the government's desire to educate its citizens and retain revenues within the country. However, this benefit is being subjected to tax by KRA negating the whole intention of the scheme. Additionally, if the taxation was incurred by the employee then in many cases it would not be affordable. For example, a driver with two children in the tuition waiver programme at Strathmore University does not have enough income to pay the taxes the Kenya Revenue Authority is levying and so cannot afford to accept the University's offer of tuition-free education for his children," he said. The VC proposed the government exempts this benefit from taxation in support of the universities' effort to motivate staff and provide an educational opportunity that would otherwise not be available. The second tax incentive is to Zero rate VAT on education services. "Education services are currently VAT exempt which means that universities do not charge VAT on their services. However, they are not eligible to claim the VAT on goods and services procured. Education like healthcare is an essential service for the development of the country. Agricultural inputs as well as most food products are zero rated. Most costs incurred by the universities except salaries, benefits and food costs are subject to VAT. The Vice Chancellor proposed education services be reclassified to the zero-rated category to allow education institutions to claim back VAT. This would reduce the cost of higher education in the country. It would also encourage faster growth of private educational institutions. The third incentive is private universities be exempted from paying stamp duty on land. "Capital projects like land acquisitions are subject to stamp duty. Private Universities have to pay heavily for stamp duty on all their land acquisitions. Moreover, many private universities have had to provide public services that should have been provided by the government. Some have built and maintained roads, developed public water and sewer lines, installed transformers, and installed lighting and continue to pay the electricity bills," Prof Odhiambo said. He asked the government to consider exempting educational institutions from stamp duty by establishing a policy that would give universities some form of rebate for providing public services. SpeechesDeputy Vice-chancellor's speech See also: http://www.kbc.co.ke/story.asp?ID=49625 http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=121793 http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7175&Itemid=5813 |
