Prioritise part time lecturers' arrears payment

Universities occupy a unique position within any society. From time immemorial, universities have long been known as agents of change, drivers of global, national and local innovation, catalysts for social and political action, centres of new knowledge through research, advancing the technology frontier, engines of societal transformation, well being and economic development.

Kenya’s Vision 2030 recognises the role of universities in knowledge creation and its ability to transform this country into a newly industrialised, middle income economy with a globally competitive workforce.

In this year’s budget proposals read by the Treasury secretary last week, the Education sector took the largest chunk of the budget. The sector was allocated Sh544.4 billion.

The university education sub-sector got Sh91.2 billion, up from Sh76.3 billion allocated in the last year's budget signifying the value the State places on higher learning.

Teaching and research remain the core business of academic institutions world over. A university's success or failure depends on the qualifications and welfare state of its staff in the academic departments and research centres/institutes.

The quality of the education of any academic institution is directly proportional to the quality of its service providers.

Universities in Kenya face a myriad of challenges. Today, it is normal for universities to delay paying their part-time lecturers for up to sense years without any sense of guilt.

The contribution of a part-time university lecturer cannot be overemphasized. A university lecturer teaches and conducts research in their respective subject areas to ensure students are up to date with the happenings around the globe.

They plan and deliver teaching on their areas of specialisation including creating teaching materials, preparing for tutorials/seminars and marking students' work, as well as guiding students on their various research projects. They train new generations of professionals who through research help find innovative solutions to societal problems.

The Commission of University Education places a heavy burden on any one person who wants to teach at the university.

Apart from attaining the highest qualifications, one is required to regularly attend academic conferences, writing journal articles, teaching modules, books and other materials to share their knowledge and for continuous professional development.

Various research findings indicate that out of the teaching staff population, 80 percent are part-time lecturers and assistant lecturers who apart from being poorly paid, the payments are always in arrears.

Part-time faculty members go through unprecedented stress not known to the public and probably the students they teach. For university lecturers to be productive, they must be paid. An employee who is unmotivated is usually not the best employee.

Research indicates that when employees have no motivation, their productivity is obviously reduced. They will do their minimal best, just so they can get through the workday. An unpaid worker is easily distracted by other non-work activities.

Universities must aim at improving the quality of their product service, increase productivity, greater responsiveness to changes in market demand and to maintain the already set standards.

The deterioration in the quality of university education in Kenya can be directly linked to the suffering of part-time lecturers. Part-time lecturers are second-class workers in most academic institutions despite the critical role they play. They do not enjoy the same status as their full-time counterparts.

The Ministry of Education must push for legislation to address the plight of part-time lecturers who form a huge chunk of the university teaching workforce. Otherwise, as a country, we will continue complaining about the quality of university education forever.

Otieno Panya, Lecturer and researcher at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology