Egerton University has announced a plan to sack lecturers and scrap five-degree courses in the latest restructuring move.
Vice Chancellor Prof Isaac Kibwage said the move will also play a key role in enhancing financial stability of the institution while countering risks, such as frequent strikes.
In a session with journalists, Kibwage said the institution had issued a notice to declare some of the positions redundant to cut the wage bill.This includes scrapping some degree courses that have failed to attract enough students to sustain them despite having hired lecturers for them.“We have so far identified five degree programs which we intend to scrap. Lecturers in those departments will have to exit and those qualified for other departments retained,” he said.
“The intention is still there. When we were charged for contempt, we were told if we don't have money we lay off people. The train has left the station but there are steps to be followed as we are the right size. Our current workforce is at 1,457 people,” he added.
University Academic Staff Union (UASU) however, pointed fingers at the management over the looming redundancies citing that they were still hiring new staff.
“It is true we are hiring new staff. Some lecturers have exited like any other institution. Where there are no replacements in the current system, we have to hire new people,” said Kibwage.
The management has also been accused of unfairly targeting union leaders with disciplinary proceedings for leading industrial action among the workers.
“There are rules that govern every institution. The fact that you are a unionist does not allow you to break the rules. They are first employees of the university before they become union leaders,” said Kibwage.
Without elaborating on further steps to be taken, the VC said the restructuring was aimed at making the institution more competitive in the future rather than regaining ground that has been lost in the past.
Kibwage noted that the restructuring was likely to put an extra strain on the leadership as they may need to devote attention to the institution make-over and maintain regular operations at the same time.
He exuded confidence that the university will get back on track with time saying that the government has expressed its willingness to support the higher education sector which is heavily in debt.
“Egerton is a government university. No government has ever been defeated. As management we know the government is doing something and a new dawn for all public universities is coming soon,” said Kibwage.creating more turbulence,” he added.
The lecturers issued a 21 days strike notice last week demanding full pay from their employer just a day after the students returned from the long December holiday.
“Egerton’s current debt is at Sh9.925 billion. We have tried to manage it from shooting up too fast. Since I took over, the debt has grown by Sh1.4 billion arising from the deferred pay,” said Kibwage.
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