This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
Published on September 27, 2019, Moi University is grappling with a Sh 2.7 billion debt, forcing it to cut costs by reducing the number of departments from 80 to 50.
The decision was made at a council meeting where the management aimed to cut costs by merging some departments with others.
As part of the restructuring, lecturers have been moved and aligned with their qualifications at undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D. levels. However, several lecturers protested the transfers, citing a lack of consultation and claiming that they had been moved to departments where they had never worked.
University Vice-Chancellor Prof Isaac Kosgey defended the changes, stating that they were necessary to ensure the institution runs smoothly.
"We are placing academic staff in the faculties where they are best qualified. These changes will be a game-changer as it will ensure efficiency and cut costs," said Prof Kosgey.
Some departments have been merged with others, including Publishing and Media Studies, which has been incorporated within the Department of Communication, and Literature, which has been merged with Linguistics.
The university has been using other mechanisms to manage its finances, including relocating students from its Nairobi Campus to its main campus in Eldoret and moving students from the School of Agriculture to the Kitale Campus.
The main cause of Moi University's financial woes is a decline in enrollment, which has affected most universities in the country due to a drop in high school performance.
Other universities, including the University of Nairobi, are also facing financial difficulties, having scrapped more than 40 courses following government recommendations.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has proposed measures to rescue the university sector, including addressing the imbalance in the ratio of faculty to technical staff and rationalizing staff to ease the payroll burden.
However, vice-chancellors are opposed to the plan to fire staff and instead want more lecturers hired to increase the lecture-to-student ratio.
Universities have 27,000 staff but only 9,000 are lecturers, and they have asked the government to increase funding to the institutions.
