Varsities Want PSC Scrapped Powers of Appointing Vice-Chancellors
Kenyan public university managers are requesting that the Universities Act of 2012 be amended to restore the powers of appointing vice-chancellors and deputies to university councils instead of the Public Service Commission.
The VCs are requesting greater autonomy over the management of the universities, proposing that individual institutions should be allowed to set the amount of fees paid by students, with the Ministry of Education only determining the caps.
University senates should be allowed to approve academic programmes without interference from professional bodies, and university councils should be appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Education on the recommendation of a panel created for that purpose.
At a conference in Mombasa County, the Vice-Chancellors of all 35 public universities made these proposals. They demanded that “prominent people with requisite expertise and experience” be appointed as chairpersons and council members to provide oversight, and that “chancellors and council members should be recruited directly rather than competitively.”
The proposal to amend the Universities Act of 2012 is also the main concern of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.
The VCs are also seeking to raise annual tuition fees from the current KES16,000 to a minimum of KES48,000 and maximum of KES96,000, and propose a two-tier funding structure: one for base funding, and the other based on university performance.
Fees should be shared among students, universities, and the national government proper allocation of the Differentiated Unit Cost.
The VCs also recommended automating 100% of university operations and records and implementing online and blended learning to reduce operational costs, and enhancing virtual learning to attract more students and utilise staff effectively.
They urged the Information Communication and Technology Ministry to connect their institutions to the internet.
They added that universities should draw on technology to enhance research to get additional funding. Furthermore, the VCs resolved that collective bargaining agreements should be handled by university councils and not the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, stating that the commission does not fully appreciate the context of individual universities.
In the proposed interventions on key issues facing public institutions of higher learning in Kenya, the VCs said the Universities Academic Staff Union, the Kenya University Staff Union and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers should stop agitating for more CBAs until pending issues are resolved.
Varsities Want PSC Scrapped Powers of Appointing Vice-Chancellors
