Prepare for jail, corrupt Vice Chancellors told

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i [Moses Omusula/Standard]

Vice chancellors who have misappropriated university funds should prepare to go to jail.

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had been invited to investigate all crimes committed in universities.

He said a lot of ‘bad things’ had happened in universities and noted that most of them border on criminal activities that can sustain court charges.

“We (universities management) have made bad decisions in the past. We will be faithful to the law. We will co-operate with EACC as investigations are done. Everyone will carry their cross,” said Dr Matiang’i.

Huge wastage

The CS said the Government could no longer “live with the kind of wastage and corruption that thrives in our universities.”

“We can no longer deal with these. Wastage is too high,” he said.

Addressing top university management this week, Matiang’i said the ministry has been receiving many bad reports about financial mismanagement by universities.

“One thing that Prof Suda (Collete, Higher Education PS) and I are tired of is the number of reports we read from universities,” he said.

He cited rampant opening of satellite campuses as one area where abuse of public funds took palace.

“If you look at the opening of satellite campuses alone you can tell crimes have been committed and can sustain charges,” said Matiang’i.

Campuses shut

The CS announced that all foreign campuses opened by local public universities have been closed down.

He said the country would not entertain non-accountable vice chancellors.

“We have lived for far too long with unacceptable vice-chancellors. Some of the decisions are going to be painful but we must clean up. We have to. We are not going back on that,” he said.

The meeting heard that some universities operate parallel payrolls for regular and module two programmes.

That there is one payroll for lecturers who are regular staff and another for the same staff who teach module two classes.

“We cannot operate two payrolls any more. Councils must ensure that effective next financial year this does not happen,” said Matiang’i.

Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua, Prof Suda, University Funding Board (UFB) chairperson Kinandu Marangu and National Treasury representative were present.

Prof Chacha Nyaigoti Chacha of Commission of University Education (CUE) and his Chief Executive Officer Mwenda Ntarangwi were also present.

Vice chancellors also got another shocker that all monies generated by universities under the parallel programme will no longer be left for universities command.

Universities will be required to declare the monies generated and remit the same to National Treasury.

The Universities Funding Board (UFB) will be the sole body that will be mandated to manage all university disbursements.

Matiang’i said UFB would be the focal point of funding universities.

“From July 1, 2018, UFB will do all disbursements. This will be a neat and tidier way of doing things,” he said.

The ‘Status of Higher Education Report 2016’ found that universities spent more than half the money collected on salaries.

The CUE report revealed that the money collected by universities between 2012 and 2015 amounted to Sh171.7 billion.

Of this, public universities collected Sh117.9 billion and private universities Sh53.8 billion.

Money from Government capitation stood at Sh133.4 billion.

Matiang’i said current and development funds would now be channelled to universities through the UFB.

Enrollment in public universities rose from 100,649 in 2008/2009 to over 364,598 in 2014/15.

Meanwhile, the ongoing lecturers strike has led to suspension of studies in various universities.

Learning has been suspended at Kenyatta University (KU) and Jomo Kenyatta University Agriculture and Technology.

In an internal memo, the universities asked students to vacate the institution’s premises.

KU’s Vice Chancellor in an internal memo noted that the industrial action had affected academic programmes.

[Additional reporting by Nasibo Kabale]

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