Addressing Vice Chancellors at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies on Wednesday, Matiangi said that in future, any university staff should be employed on contract basis and vowed to initiate a cleanup in all public universities that have inherited employees of previous administrations/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 15 – Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi has asked the management of all public universities to cease hiring of university staff on permanent and pensionable basis with immediate effect saying the government can no longer sustain their incomes.
Addressing Vice Chancellors at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies on Wednesday, Matiangi said that in future, any university staff should be employed on contract basis and vowed to initiate a cleanup in all public universities that have inherited employees of previous administrations.
“University employees should now be hired on contract basis. This business of hiring every university worker even those working in the kitchen should come to an end,” said Matiangi.
Matiangi however said that those who have already been employed will not be affected by the new regulation.
Matiangi said that the ministry will also not reopen satellite campuses that were already shut and urged the management of the public universities to put in place structures that will ensure students get quality and relevant education.
“It is the policy of the government now. We will not allow as a ministry the opening up of satellite campuses anywhere in the country. Concentrate on developing your main institutions, put resources there. Let us be honest if we want to advance the quality of our education in our country.”
“The proposal to introduce contract-based employment in universities will start in the next financial year, time has come when we must reflect on how to run universities,” said Matiangi.
The CS said the ministry has embarked on reforming universities and vowed to pursue the reforms until the rot in higher learning institutions is eroded.
In April, Matiangi stopped Kenyan universities from opening satellite campuses and said those in operation would be audited afresh.
Matiang’i also closed a campus in Rwanda saying it was opened illegally. He did not name the university but Kenyan institutions with campuses in the country include JKUAT and Kenyatta University.
The CS also challenged them to take responsibility for failures in their institutions and vowed to take action against any university officials found misusing funds meant for the development of universities.
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