Kenyatta University was on Friday, January 13, forced to pull down a post advertising the sale of branded calendars after an uproar from its students, staffers and the general public.
In the advert seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the university stated that the calendars were ready for collection at the post-modern library at a price of Ksh195.
"The 2023 Kenyatta University wall calendars are now available for sale to members of staff, students and the general public at KU Post-Modern Library, circulation desk, ground floor from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday," the post read in part.
However, the post received criticism in the comments section- with most of responders arguing that the branded calendars were initially given out for free to all staff members.
“But it used to be free for staff, how broke has the university gone? Until when did the university start selling calendars to staff?” questioned one user.
“How did you get to a point of selling? Does it mean that the university is in bad shape financially? Who needs a wall calendar in 2023 surely? I am disappointed as an alumnus,” another one commented.
In a subsequent response, KU stated that its staff members had received the calendars for free but would have to pay the fee to get additional calendars.
"The staff have been issued with calendars. But if they need extras, they then have to purchase them," the university clarified.
Others defended the institution arguing that the sale of the calendars was a way of generating income for the university - a commendable move at a time when public universities experienced financial constraints.
However, they felt compelled to give advice to the institution on how to find alternative sources of revenue.
“There are better ways universities can use to generate revenue not selling calendars," a user identified as Boniface Wachira stated.
"We got phones and smart watches with calendars, I don't think anybody needs to hang it on the wall," another one posed.
Public universities have struggled financially in the recent past, prompting the respective managements to devise alternative means of generating revenue.
So dire was the situation that the government warned of possible increment of school fees for university students in a bid to alleviate the problem where the state struggles to raise capitation fees for all government-sponsored students.
