Varsities in crisis as debts, rows and corruption threaten collapse

Plagued by mismanagement, corruption, and crippling debt, various universities across the country are on the brink of collapse.

A revelation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) that it is investigating 18 institutions of higher learning over various offenses including theft of public funds, unethical conduct and academic fraud has also thrust to the fore the dire situation in especially public Universities.

One of the universities in the EACC’s crosshairs is Moi University, Kenya’s second-oldest institution, which faces allegations of embezzling Sh2.2 billion. The university is also dealing with a paralysing workers’ strike and strained relations between management and staff.

The institution’s Vice Chancellor Isaac Kosgey, Chief accountant Egla Samoei , Head of procurement Wilson Bett and Head of the development unit Moses Kipkulei have been summoned to address the allegations.

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology is also under probe over Sh 2.6 billion fraud at the institution where officials are accused of allegedly colluding with consultants and contractors to defraud the university of the said amount of money in the implementation of six capital projects.

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EACC spokesperson Eric Ngumbi last month noted that payments for those projects have already been made despite the projects still being incomplete.

Additionally, the institution is accused of facilitating the graduation of over 200 unqualified students through bribery.

Ngumbi expressed concern about corruption’s infiltration into universities, warning that unethical conduct is undermining education standards and quality across the country.

Then there is the University of Nairobi (UoN) where supremacy wrangles within the school’s leadership threaten grinding the institution’s operations to halt.

Last week, members of the University and Academic Staff Union (UASU) UoN chapter called for disbandment of the university council. This followed the unceremonious removal of Prof Stephen Kiama as the university Vice Chancellor and also as a professor of the institution in October.

The National Assembly Committee on Education has since launched a probe into the leadership wrangles whilst expressing concerns about the absence of substantive office holders in key positions, including the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor. They have questioned the university council’s reliance on acting officials, which contravenes the human resources regulations limiting acting appointments to six months.

At Maasai Mara University, the situation is equally dire. The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Education and Governance has called for a forensic audit of the university’s financial records from 2015/2016.

Revelations include unexplained expenditures of Sh3 billion and irregular staff dismissals, prompting demands for accountability and immediate corrective measures.

 “It is our duty as a committee of the National Assembly that we will not see Maasai Mara going down... A forensic audit must be conducted within three months,”directed committee chair Jack Wamboka during a committee sitting earlier this week.

The committee further instructed the reinstatement of staff dismissed unlawfully and summoned the Maasai Mara University Council to address audit queries.

The committee expressed concerns over the deteriorating state of institutions of higher learning, further calling for transparency and accountability from accounting officers. 

The investigation into Maasai Mara University’s financial statements is set to continue after the National Assembly resumes from recess next year.