All Vice Chancellors To be Appointed by a Body under MoE.
The creation of a committee to choose the chancellors of public universities is being proposed by the Ministry of Education. The Cabinet Secretary would appoint these chancellors respectively. The ministry wants to have this group recommend three candidates to the President.
This concept was inspired by the realization that basically, governance problems have been the major negative influencer of Kenyan institutions’ performance.
The ministry has also questioned the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) involvement in the selection of senior administrators at institutions.
This move comes as colleges battle a significant debt of more over Sh62 billion. This has thus prevented them from meeting their obligations to suppliers or statutory deductions.
The CS for Education, Ezekiel Machogu, has as well emphasized that governance concerns have contributed to public institutions’ poor performance in worldwide rankings, notably in research and innovation.
He is recommending changes to the Universities Act 2012 that would permit appointment of chancellors. This is normally possible through a selection panel in order to allay these worries.
The CS stressed in his testimony to the Senate Committee on Education that the PSC’s engagement has weakened institutions’ autonomy. Likewise, PSC is a part of a larger initiative to restructure the nation’s system of higher education management.
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All Vice Chancellors To be Appointed by a Body under MoE.