Moi University has defended its recent decision to lay off a significant number of staff, amid acute financial constrain. The institution, like other public universities in Kenya, has been grappling with funding challenges that the Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Kiplagat Kotut described as unsustainable
On May 2025, the university issued redundancy notice, a move that has since triggered debate over the state of higher education financing in the country
According to Prof. Kotut, the university is now saving approximately Ksh. 120 million per month following the layoff of over 700 staff members. He reiterate that the institution had to make a bold and painful choice in order to stabilize operations and prevent the university from collapsing under the mounting financial pressure.
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“The layoffs were carried out in a consultation with relevant stakeholders, including unions, and in accordance with the law,” stated Prof. Kotut
While the administration frames the move as a financial necessity, critics argue that it reflects a deeper crisis within Kenya’s public university system. Staffs affected by the layoffs have voiced frustrations over job loss and uncertainty particularly in the job market.
This comes after representatives from the Kenya University Staff Union (KUSU), Moi University Chapter, appeared before the National Assembly Committee on education on June, 12,2025, where the union delegation delivered a detailed memorandum citing human resource constraints, staff redundancy, stalled Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) and financial challenges and members of the Education Committee pledged to engage relevant oversight institutions and the Ministry of Education for a solution for the embattled university staff
KUSU has promised to pursue legal options and demand accountability from the university’s council and Ministry of education.
By Masaki Enock
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