Moi University fights for survival amid calls for urgent overhaul

Moi University students may stay home longer as the government plans to reopen the institution.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said while financial bailouts were necessary, the long-term solution required robust reforms in governance, financial management and leadership at Moi University.

The CS did not commit to when the university would open, even as National Assembly Education Committee chairman Julius Melly hinted at November 4, 2024.

If the pronouncement by Mr Melly stands, then learning would resume a month after it was indefinitely closed following students’ unrest arising from prolonged lecturers’ strike

On Wednesday, Mr Ogamba said issues bedeviling the university that led to its shut down, go way back from 2015.

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“These are not issues to be sought immediately, but we have come up with a strategy to ensure the school opens soon. We already have in place a number of programmes to ensure Moi University picks again. We will not allow it to go down,” he said.  

Speaking at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Education (KICD), Ogamba said the government is sourcing funds to bail out the ailing institution. “We are looking for a particular amount of resources to inject into the university to open as we deal with teething problems that have bedeviled the institution for a long time,” he added.

He noted that a caretaker committee will be formed to oversee the university’s recovery and ensure efficient management during this critical period. He said it will consist of the National Treasury, National Assembly and political leadership from the region. “All of us should be brought on board and bite the bullet. If there is any governance issue, financial issue, wastage issue we will deal with it,” said Ogamba.

This comes three days after Melly said the university has put in place austerity measures to address the crisis, submitting a request for urgent financial support from the government.

According to a report tabled in Parliament on October 18, the Tinderet MP said the institution is seeking Sh315 million per month for two years, a one-off Sh2.4 billion to clear outstanding debts, and Sh1.05 billion to settle salary arrears.

According to the report, the National Treasury has already released Sh609 million to help pay staff salaries and scholarships.

The government has also laid out a plan to ensure the university reopens by November 4, 2024, including an additional Sh500 million to be disbursed by mid-November.

Melly revealed that the university hopes to raise Sh700 million by selling property, acknowledging that this financial request might not be fully accommodated within the current fiscal space.

“Some recommendations are immediate and will ensure that the university statistics are documented. It analysed the request for funds submitted by the university,” he said.

He shared a sobering account of the university’s struggles and the extensive efforts being made to restore the once-thriving academic hub.

“The problems facing Moi University are affecting thousands of students, lecturers, and members of the public who, in one way or another, depend on the university,” Melly said.

These include Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, the University of Eldoret, Karatina University, and Maasai Mara University, among others.

Although these expansions were intended to increase access to higher education, they depleted the university’s resources. Melly said Moi University, like many other public universities, has seen its wage bill balloon over the years, now consuming a staggering 88 percent of the institution’s total revenue.

“Between 1991 and 2024, Moi University lost critical infrastructure, assets, and financial resources by establishing over nine fully-fledged universities across the country,” Melly explained.

Melly noted that the collapse of the privately sponsored students’ program, which was once a significant source of revenue, hit the university hard.