Inside looming mass firing at troubled Moi University

Moi University has unveiled a renewed plan to lay off staff as part of a rationalisation strategy aimed at pulling the institution out of a financial crisis.

The plan, which initially targeted 900 staff, was halted after staff unions moved to court in protest. However, appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Education, acting Vice Chancellor Kiplagat Kotut said the process of right-sizing has since resumed.

The VC revealed that the university’s payroll is unsustainable, consuming 81 per cent of its revenue, with Sh383 million spent on salaries.

He disclosed that the university had already reduced its workforce by releasing 300 contract employees in April last year, after redistributing their duties among remaining staff.

The next phase, he said, will involve a detailed analysis of workloads for both academic and administrative staff over the past two years before determining the number of employees required.

“We are looking at what people have been doing. Some lecturers have not been teaching. They have been here doing nothing. If you have not been having work, why would we continue keeping you?” he posed.

However, the acting VC acknowledged that the university faces a delicate balancing act, as some departments have excess staff due to declining student enrolment, while others particularly specialised programmes such as medicine require additional lecturers to meet accreditation standards.

“Workload cannot lie. If you have been teaching and you have students, why would we send you away? But there are programmes where we have excess staff because enrolment has gone down,” he said.

All unions had gone to court over the issue.

The university has commenced the process of right-sizing, starting with headcount verification, authentication of certificates, and validation of workload for both administrative and academic staff.

The university has already reduced staff numbers from 2,000 last year to the current 1,765.

At the same time, the university has seconded some of its staff to other universities to reduce its salary burden.

According to the presentation before legislators, 56 staff have been sent to Kabarnet University.

“Out of that exercise we have been able to save upto Sh11 million on the payroll.’’

Other staff have been sent to Karatina University, Bomet University and Kerio Valley University College.

Prof Kotut indicated that the transfer of some academic staff was a result of the declining enrolment in some courses and students population.

According to the VC, the university population has declined from an all time high of 40,000 students to 12,000.

“We have departments that have fewer staff and specialised programmes where it is difficult to recruit. We shall be very careful because teaching, research and community service remain the core mandate of the university,” he said.

 The rationalisation exercise is one of several reforms introduced since the new management and university council took over a year ago to rescue the institution.

“We are still rationalising. We are not yet there, but we are doing it progressively,” Kotut told MPs.

However, legislators warned against laying off critical members of the workforce, calling on the university to tread carefully during the exercise to avoid compromising academic quality.

Education Committee chair Julius Melly cautioned the university against carrying out staff cuts without proper analysis, saying Parliament expects measurable progress one year after the current management assumed office.

He directed the university to submit a comprehensive report showing the outcome of its workload analysis.

“We want you to do (workload analysis) and provide a report to us because we will be back here again on these issues,” Melly, who is also the Tinderet MP said. 

Joseph Makilap, the Baringo North MP, also demanded a breakdown of the university’s remaining workforce.

“Break down the remaining 1,700 staff into academic staff and non-academic staff so that we know who is essential and who is not,” Makilap indicated.

The committee also turned its attention to the university’s finances after Chief Internal Auditor Gabriel Ogutu admitted the institution is technically insolvent. 

He said liabilities exceed assets by more than Sh8 billion, with the university having posted annual deficits since 2014.