This archive report was first published on 12 July 2021.
University of Nairobi Restructuring Plans Spark Debate ¶
Published on July 12, 2021
The University of Nairobi's (UoN) planned restructuring has elicited mixed reactions from lecturers and union officials, with some warning against job losses and others calling for business-oriented management.
UoN has a total of 4,000 staff, with 1,500 teaching and 2,500 non-teaching staff. University Academic Staff Union (Uasu) Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga warned the management against sacking the 1,500 teaching staff, citing gross understaffing.
"We have a gross understaffing of academic staff and the union will not allow even a single teaching staff to be sacked through restructuring," Dr Wasonga said.
He added that the academic staff were not responsible for the government's overborrowing, which has put pressure on the university to sack staff. Dr Wasonga called for the government to involve all stakeholders before restructuring public universities, or be prepared for industrial action.
Kenya Universities Staff Union (Kusu) acting chairman Ernest Wayaya also weighed in on the issue, saying the government has refused to confront the truth about the management of public universities.
"Public universities, like business entities, must be managed by people with business acumen," Mr Wayaya said. "We need industrialists like Manu Chandaria and Narendra Raval to be the vice-chancellors of public universities and make the current VCs be their deputy VCs," he added.
