By Vostine Ratemo
Egerton University has scrapped eight degree courses, a move that will see more than 200 staff declared redundant.
The varsity Vice-Chancellor (VC) Isaac Ongubo Kibwage made the remarks during a staff meeting at Kilimo Hall in the institution’s main campus in Njoro.
“Unfortunately, we will be letting some staff go. Some departments are overstaffed and we will be rationalising them. This will definitely lead to job redundancies,” he said.
The scrapped programmes are; Bachelor of Industrial Technology, Bachelor of Techology in Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Science (in applied aquatic science), Bachelor Of Science (dairy land resources management), Bachelor of Science (integrated forest resource management), Bachelor of Science (wildlife management and enterprise), Bachelor of Science (soil, environment and land use management) and Bachelor Of Science (dairy technology and management).
The institution is in the midst of its worst financial crisis, with a wage bill exceeding Ksh 200 million and an additional debt amounting to Ksh 9 billion which has incapacitated the institution from running operations efficiently.
The Njoro-based institution receives a capitation of Ksh 185 million from the government and school fees amounting to Ksh 26 million which adds up to Ksh 211 million which is relatively low considering that the institution’s payroll amounts to Ksh 248 million.
