Universities that are dealing with excessive staffing and uncontrolled growth
The main issue preventing higher education institutions from maintaining their payroll, operations, and upkeep costs is the unchecked proliferation of universities and excessive workforce, as determined by the Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, which is chaired by Bumula MP Hon. Jack Wamboka.
According to the Committee, which cited the Technical University of Kenya (TU-K), the school has experienced persistent financial difficulties since it became a full-fledged university on January 15, 2013. Its estimated monthly income of Kshs. 207 million, which includes Kshs. 63.3 million in capitation, is insufficient to meet the monthly cost of Kshs. 314 million.
The legislators emphasized a monthly wage bill of Kshs. 272 million that has not been paid, adding to a total debt of Kshs. 12.99 billion, which includes arrears from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) cycle for 2017–2021.
Because of these cash flow issues, the University was forced to pay net wages to all employees, neglecting to deduct statutory deductions (pensions, PAYE, and housing levy) and third-party deductions (union dues, bank loans, SACCOs, welfare contributions, and insurance premiums) from workers’ pay. As a result of these economic challenges, there has been an increase in outstanding invoices.
The Committee turned its focus to Moi University and discovered that, in addition to the non-remittance of payroll deductions, the university has also struggled to cover its daily operating expenditures. As of March 31, 2025, the outstanding bills totaled Kshs. 9,234,952,068.
As a result, Moi University also switched to paying net salaries to all employees, neglecting to deduct statutory deductions (pensions, PAYE, and housing Levy) and third-party deductions (union dues, bank loans, SACCOs, welfare contributions, and insurance premiums) from their wages.
The sum due to the Pension Scheme and Provident Fund is now about Kshs. 4.2 billion, including interest and penalties. According to the Committee, the growing number of strikes at the institution is partly due to this circumstance.
Members also expressed worries about the return to office of Vice-Chancellors who had previously been placed on leave, mentioning Kenyatta University in particular.
The Committee noticed that, in accordance with a Circular from the Chief of Staff and Head of the Public Service, Prof. Paul Wainaina went on leave on April 15, 2024, planning to use accrued leave days. Records showed that Prof. Wainaina had accrued 202 leave days, which were scheduled to expire on January 30, 2025.
But after the first period of leave ended, the Council decided to put Prof. Wainaina on prolonged leave.
The Committee also learned that Prof. Wainaina maintains that his sanctioned leave expired on January 30, 2025, and that he should thus be permitted to return to his position.
Additionally, the legislators were informed that the Professor maintains that because his fixed term agreement ends on January 26, 2026, he is not subject to the retirement age.
The legislators pointed out that several workers have been working in acting roles for extended periods, contrary to legal and regulatory frameworks, in an attempt to gain clarity on the subject. They particularly mentioned the acting Vice Chancellor of Kenyatta University, who has held the position for a year.
As a result, Mr. Julius Migos Ogamba, the cabinet secretary for education, said that in order to address these difficulties, the Ministry of Education and TU-K have devised a recovery plan that includes a number of initiatives, such as Direct Payroll Support, which will provide a net payroll support of Kshs. 145 million.
The CS states that the help will be given between January 2025 and June 30, 2025, in order to guarantee that employees are paid their wages on time.
In order to close the budget deficit, the Ministry of Education promised to provide conditional grants with phased allocations over the following Financial Years, from 2025/2026 to 2031/2032, to cover gross salaries and facilitate the on-time payment of required deductions.
According to this agreement, TU-K will pay the outstanding obligations of the defunct TU-K Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme during the fiscal years 2025/2026, 2028/2029, and 2029/2030 in accordance with the overall recovery plan.
In reference to Moi University, CS Migos told the Committee that the Government had given the University Kshs. 500 million to cover the financial needs of its workforce by the end of January 2025.
In addition, the reimbursement schedule for the outstanding debts of Kshs. 8.6 billion owed by Moi University is scheduled to be implemented gradually in order to strike a fair settlement while maintaining the financial viability of the workforce.
“We are collaborating with all stakeholders in the university sub-sector to make sure that our universities are managed effectively and sustainably so that they don’t experience the financial difficulties we’ve seen before,” the CS informed the legislators.
“An important aspect of this is good corporate governance, which we are attempting to foster by hiring competent and suitable individuals for Council membership and for senior management positions in our public universities,” Mr. Migos said.
The CS remarked that the case involving Prof. Wainaina is now before the courts and that the ministry is waiting for the conclusion of the judicial proceedings.
As a Ministry, we have taken the position that we will be guided by the decision of the Court once the matter is concluded,” CS Migos said.
The members of the council praised CS Migos for his informative response and his prompt action in addressing some of the issues facing higher education institutions, but they also encouraged him to take a strong stand, especially with respect to what they referred to as “rogue University councils” that are politically motivated and
As a result, choose incompetent vice-chancellors and principals who end up running the schools poorly.