By Andrew Kasuku
The search for a substantive Vice Chancellor at Technical University of Mombasa has begun with acting VC Professor Laila Abubakar set to battle it out with eight other professors.
Laila who has been acting for two years now has been shortlisted by the panel, the University Council, alongside Agriculture PS nominee and current Taita Taveta University VC Prof Hamad Boga for the interviews.
Laila and Maseno University’s Kisumu Campus’ Sussy Gumo are the only ladies on the list of professors that includes Isaiah Omollo (Kenyatta University), Colins Ouma (Maseno University), Cooperative University of Kenya’s Douglas Shitanda.
Other professors also drawn from a pool of 14 applicants are University of Kwa-Zulu Natal’s Deogratius Jaganyi, Maurice Amutabi of Kisii University and Joseph Sarima Chacha from Maseno University.
Appointed in February 2016 Laila has brought a halt to students’ unrest after facilitating the accreditation of Engineering Programmes by the Engineers Board of Kenya in August at the varsity that was a constituent college of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
In 2015, TUM students from the Engineering faculty staged a major strike that saw property worth millions of shillings in Mombasa city destroyed as they protested at a decision to have TUM graduate instead of the EBK-cleared JKUAT.
The students have since graduated at TUM following the EBK nod that came after rigorous inspection on the institution’s facility, teaching staff capacity and laboratories by the regulatory body.
Multi-million shilling state-of-the-art projects including the School of Medicine set to be commissioned end of this year, over 200-cubicle capacity hostels at Kwale Campus, a modern customer care centre among others are part of Laila’s achievements.
The vacancy at the helm was triggered by the untimely termination of services of Professor Josphat Mwatela among other top officials in February 2016 that saw Laila run the university without even a single Deputy Vice Chancellor for close to a year before the appointment of Joseph Rasowo later in the year.
Laila who is also the substantive Academic Affairs DVC is the only internal candidate after acting DVC Raphael Mutuku failed to make it to the shortlist.
