Account tussle over UON's parallel programme
The President recently announced that there would be attempts to tighten the public expenditure belt. In light of this, the University of Nairobi’s council announced some of the measures they would be taking. They communicated that monies from the module 2 program would be channeled to the main account.
Division among upper management
This announcement has however not augured well with everyone. The account tussle is believed to have caused a split right down the institutions management. One half believe the funds should remain as is while others are pro the announced measures. However it seems the council have set the ball rolling and will act on their statement. This is as per a memo circulated. The memo states “All monies generated by the institution is government money”. Roughly translated this means the government would be inserting itself in the university’s governance.
The parallel programme is largely accredited for keeping a lot of universities afloat. This is largely due to the fact the universities manage the funds independently. This however might not be the case for too long. With the new measures in place, the government should have access to these funds. This means the funds disbursed to institutions will be regulated. A measure that will further tighten the noose on an already choking institution. UoN however urges their staff to stay calm. In a statement, the council chairperson stated ” The Council wishes to reassure the university fraternity. The university functions and all her services will continue to be discharged seamlessly”.
This measures come in the wake of CS Magoha’s comments. The Education CS has continuously called for higher education reforms. A move that could however go two ways. First, it could lead the overburdened institutions to bankruptcy. Second, it could minimize cases of graft within the universities management.
