Intentional policy mistakes aimed at undermining public universities

UASU SG Dr Constantine Wasonga before National Assembly's Education Committee at Bunge Towers, Nairobi. November 21, 2024. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] The University's Academic Staff Union (UASU) has accused the government of intentionally sabotaging public universities through policies that threaten the existence of these universities. Addressing the press in Eldoret city during a meeting with over 120 lecturers who were declared redundant by Moi University, UASU Secretary General Dr Constantine Wasonga the voiced strong criticism of three government policies, which he claimed are deliberately undermining public universities, and on the other hand, favouring private institutions of higher learning. Dr Wasonga said the move by the government to enrol government-sponsored students in private universities, among other decisions, is meant to enrich private universities as public institutions drown in debts and financial constraints. He criticised the government's decision to fund private universities, asserting that this diverts essential resources away from public institutions that are already facing financial challenges. He questions the rationale behind supporting private entities while public universities struggle to sustain operations. "There are three policy mistakes that have happened in higher education. One is taking government-sponsored students to private entities. Now, lecturers who were employed to teach government students have no jobs because the students they were supposed to teach have been taken to private universities. As we speak, hundreds of dons in public universities have been declared redundant. Should the lecturers now go to private universities to find employment?" questioned Wasonga. He said that these policies are part of a broader strategy to destabilize the public institutions. He also faulted the government's decision to do away with Module II or "parallel programs" which greatly supplemented university funding and provided alternative pathways to higher education. "If the government knew that it could not fund universities adequately, why did they kill module II that was sustaining universities?" Posed Wasonga. Wasonga asserted that recent government actions, including proposals to cease funding public universities, have led to exorbitant tuition fees, effectively restricting access to higher education for economically disadvantaged students. The don further regretted the decision to have Universities generate funds for their employees' salaries, noting that all government employees are paid from the exchequer. He termed the policy as archaic and misplaced. "Let the government take over the payroll for the public universities' staff. Whatever is given to these universities as capitation should be for their operations only, the way it happens in secondary and primary schools. We are not going to allow you to destabilise public universities for your private universities to thrive," warned Wasonga. He argued that private universities have become a lucrative business in the country while public universities are sinking in debts. "Now everybody is building a university while university academic staff are being laid off. Where do these brilliant minds go?" he posed. Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU) Secretary General Dr Charles Mukhwaya castigated the government for failing to prioritise the education sector, leading to the downfall of many public universities in the country. "The government must not run away from its role in funding public universities. The government owes most of the public universities capitation from years ago, including statutory deductions, pensions, PAYE, and has not done due diligence in terms of keeping its end of the bargain. Kenyans are paying high taxes, but the government is not funding universities adequately," claimed Dr Mukhwaya. He called on Vice Chancellors to be 'bold enough and tell the government the truth regarding the poor state of the universities.' "The VCs are cowardly. They are not able to tell the government where it is ailing these institutions are ailing. They have become the praise and worship cheerleaders instead of running these institutions. We want them (VCs) to tell the president and the government the bitter pill. The government must come to the rescue of these universities," Mukhwaya held. The don added that some of the university leaders have run down the institutions, making endless corruption deals under the government's watch. "If the government is not acting on these corrupt individuals and instead chooses to sack innocent employees, how do we measure our literacy level if our universities are going to close down?" added Mukhwaya.

Intentional policy mistakes aimed at undermining public universities

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