Lecturers Face Sack as Moi University Fights Insolvency

(ELDORET) – Moi University has announced plans to sack a number of workers, including lecturers, as part of a major restructuring plan aimed at keeping the institution afloat after more than a decade of financial trouble.

The university’s Acting Vice Chancellor, Kiplagat Kotut, told lawmakers on Thursday that the institution is carrying out a workload analysis of its employees before laying off some staff.

Appearing before the National Assembly’s Education Committee, Mr Kotut assured the lawmakers that the institution is beginning to recover following several interventions.

“We realised some of the lecturers have not been teaching. They are parasitising on others, so we are saying that since they do not have anything to do, we will release them,” Mr Kotut said.

During the session, the Acting Vice Chancellor revealed that the institution has built up a debt of over KES 8 billion (USD 61.96 million) and pending bills surpassing KES 10 billion (USD 77.45 million).

According to him, the pending bills stem from deficits run up by the university since 2014. Mr Kotut asked the committee to intervene to clear the amount.

“The issue of pending bills remains a major concern for us. We request that this committee consider adding KES 1.9 billion (USD 14.72 million) to support recurrent expenditure for 2026/27,” Mr Kotut said.

Despite his plea, the committee tasked Mr Kotut with outlining what he has done to restore public confidence in the institution and revive it amid reports of insolvency.

On this, the Vice Chancellor stated that they had built students’ and parents’ confidence in the institution, which he noted is clear from the rising enrolment numbers since they took over.

“In 2024, the number of students was 5,000. This moved up to 6,800 last year, and this year we are seeing the number move to 10,000,” Mr Kotut told the committee members.

“What we have done is move students’ progress through the academic calendar and ensure they graduate on time. We are also sorting out the issue of missing marks,” he added.

Following the deliberations, the committee directed Mr Kotut and the board of management to prepare and submit a detailed report on the issues affecting the institution.