Save souls of universities

Egerton University’s announcement that it would not pay full salaries beginning this month adds to the misery at public universities.

According to the university’s Acting deputy vice-chancellor, the Treasury had not remitted the capitation for the month, making worse the cutting of allocations to these key institutions of higher learning that Kenya relies on for research, teaching, and reading.

Apart from Egerton, other universities are sagging under the weight of deficits that have affected salaries and a slew of statutory deductions.

In fact, the salaries woes are a big worry now, what with the many months arrears that part-time lecturers have been demanding for years.

At some of these universities, workers —both teaching and non-teaching— have resorted to strikes, leading to closure of these institutions.

We appeal to the government to run a serious review of what is happening at these apex academic institutions and save them from a painful collapse as seen in mundane issues, including salaries payment and remitting of the statutory deductions.

This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue longer than this, since it is exposing the entire economy to unprecedented storms whose effects will be deeper and harsher in the near future. It is time for a turnaround or nothing.