By Malachi Motano
The University of Nairobi (UoN) has created two positions of associate Vice Chancellor and abolished five positions of deputy vice chancellor (DVCs) in their latest administrative structure reforms.
The university has also abolished the positions of principals and deputy principals for the university colleges that will now be headed by deans, principals and deputy principals, with the roles of the principals and deputy principals gone.
In the new structure, all the colleges have also been abolished and their functions reorganized around the leaner faculties, with the faculties equally slashed and reduced from 35 faculties to only 11.
Only the research centres (14 research institutes) including KAVI, Wangari Mathai institute, Institute of Development Studies among others have been retained.
According to the University Council Chairperson, Prof.Julia Ojiambo in effecting the transformation, the development was necessitated by the need to eliminate duplication of functions and redundancies.
“The changes were geared towards improving efficiency in service delivery by aligning resources to functions and manage costs of service delivery. They are meant to enhance accountability and utilise excess capacity at the university to generate more resources,” she noted.
“I am confident that the structural changes at the university will result in quick decision-making and greater financial discipline at the institution,” she added.
Meanwhile, the vice chancellor position remains untouched even as the new structure replaces an almost 50-year-old leadership and governance structure at the university.
Research centres have been retained. The colleges will be placed under a reorganised new positions of executive and associate deans.
The officers affected are DVC finance and planning, DVC human resource, DVC student affairs, DVC academic affairs and DCV research and innovation.
With the 5 position scrapped they will be replaced by 2 positions of associate vice chancellor
The positions of principals and deputy principals for the six university of Nairobi colleges have equally been abolished.
There are 8 principals in total across the six colleges.
These being the Humanity and Social Science college, Health Science, Education and External studies, Biological and Physical science, Architecture and Engineering and Agriculture and veterinary science colleges.
The colleges will now headed by deans, principals and deputy principals, with the roles of the principals and deputyprincipals gone. The colleges will be placed under a reorganised new positions of executive and associate deans.
