Moi University crisis offers chance for a turnaround

Moi University has a compelling motto: ‘Foundation of Knowledge’. Started over three decades ago with a population of only 83 students, the current student population of 43,000 attests to the fact that the university has made major contributions to Kenya’s human capital needs and is a key tributary to the global intellectual basin.

However, recent reports have it that the university has plunged in to an abyss of mismanagement. Like many local universities, Moi is limping along the road that could plunge the country into an intellectual apocalypse. But that need not be the case. The challenges public universities are facing present them with a window of opportunity to demonstrate there is nothing more practical than a good theory.