The Head of Public Service, Felix Koskei, has issued a resounding warning to university administrators while revealing investigations have discovered 23 public universities in the country are technically insolvent.
In an op-ed published in a local daily, Koskei stated that the ongoing forensic audit was paramount to trace the mismanagement of resources in these institutions, often characteristic of those declared financially insolvent.
"With 23 public universities technically insolvent, financial sustainability is an imperative. Revenue diversification, professional management of income-generating units, and real-time financial reporting are a must," he stated.
"These institutions, conceived as centres of scholarship, innovation and national advancement, have in too many instances deteriorated under the weight of dysfunctional governance, poor strategic stewardship, financial impropriety and intellectual stagnation."
As such, he announced that vice chancellors and university councils had been directed to resurrect the failing institutions, including reclaiming governance of the universities.
Other directives issued were ensuring that the demarcation between council oversight and university administration is observed and enforcing all performance contracts.
According to Koskei, leadership succession was also a major factor in universities and thus needed clear planning that should be treated as a "strategic obligation, not a discretionary act".
Citing previous instances where university councils have made appointments through political manipulation and ethnic bias, leading to the downfall of once academic giants, he ordered that all transitions and staff appointments be anchored in merit and institutional continuity.
"Corruption, wastage and the defiance of lawful authority are no longer tenable within public institutions," he stated.
This comes at a time when public institutions like Moi University, the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) and even the University of Nairobi (UoN) are being plagued with obstacles impeding their mandate as a top producer of Kenya's workforce.
From TUK being declared financially insolvent and others facing succession wrangles, coupled with lawsuits, the government continues to grasp at straws to revive the once respected institutions of public universities.
Shifting focus to basic institutions, which he termed the sector's normative foundation, he called for a reconfiguration of its curricula to prioritise practical skills, demonstrable competencies, and seamless engagement with industry in line with the competency-based education structure.
This, he said, should include gender inclusivity in technical disciplines, support learners with disabilities and localise training to reflect country-specific needs.
