The management of Moi University has hinted it will close or scale down more non-viable satellite campuses to reduce costs and improve education standards.

Vice-chancellor of the institution, Prof Isaac Kosgei, said planned reforms include harmonising programmes and scaling down some of its campuses as it seeks to become financially sustainable.

He said this during the institution’s 41st virtual graduation ceremony at the weekend, adding that “We have set in motion a number of reforms to put the university back to a good, healthy financial position. We will continue to review our academic programmes to align to the government’s Big Four agenda and vision 2030.”  

In July, the university, based in Kesses, Uasin Gishu County, handed over the Odera Akang’o campus in Yala, Siaya County, to Maseno University.

In 2016, it closed its Kericho and Nakuru campuses in response to a government directive on education standards in tertiary institutions.

The announcement comes on the heels of changes announced by the University of Nairobi following recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF document guiding the restructuring says “For some State-owned enterprises, the Covid-19 shock exacerbated existing underlying financial weaknesses. For example, public universities have recorded persistent losses over the long term.”

With a combined workforce of over 12,000 academic and non-teaching staff, the UoN, Moi and Kenyatta universities gulp billions of shillings in wages.

According to recent audit reports UoN has the largest wage bill, spending about Sh8.7 billion on personal emoluments, followed by Kenyatta (Sh5.6 billion) and Moi (Sh4.69 billion).

Their expenditure on staff salaries and associated expenses is skewed against their income, and any reforms to balance the two will most likely lead to job losses.

UoN has announced it would abolish all colleges and reorganise all functions around faculties, now reduced to 11 to avoid duplication and functional overreach.

At Moi, university council chairman, Dr Humphrey Njuguna, said that the institution is embarking on a number of initiatives to diversify into income generating activities that include apple farming, noting that the university seeks to earn at least Sh40 billion from the crop in the next four years.

He said that since 2015, Moi had missed out on Sh12 billion in financial allocations from the Treasury, further straining its operations.

In a speech read by Ministry of Education official, David Watene, on behalf University Education and Research Principal Secretary Simon Nabukwesi, he challenged universities to tailor their programme to job market requirements and address national challenges.


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