University of Nairobi vice-chancellor Peter Mbithi has issued a long list of some of the challenges causing the financial woes at the institution he heads. The university is unable to remit statutory deductions that have accumulated to a mind-boggling Sh1.6 billion.
Prof Mbithi says the enhanced pay deals, statutory obligations, and degree programme costing are some of the problem areas giving the institution sleepless nights.
It is also possible that after the Ministry of Education reined in national exam cheats, the lucrative parallel learning programmes are feeling the pinch with all C+ (plus) scorers getting access to regular admissions. Which could show that public universities were building their successes on quick sand; insisting on verifiable exam performance should be the goal of a promising economy. The moment universities are reduced to shells, the economy runs the risk of grinding to a halt.
To get it right, it behoves the government and the university management, to assess and address the source of financial challenges that the academic institutions are facing. Is it funding? Is it poor management? Or is it both? Once this has been established, they might embark on the more demanding task of identifying what they need to do to turn their fortunes around.
There is no justice in cutting allocations to universities that are supposed to produce talent and ideas to, for example, create employment. Similarly, universities will only achieve their goals when they are led and managed by the right people who deliver uninterrupted business.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
