MPs have called for Kenyatta University’s governing council dissolved and Prof Paul Wainaina reinstated as vice-chancellor.

The Public Investments Committee on Governance and Education, chaired by Bumula MP Wamboka Wanami, proposed that court cases filed by Wainaina be withdrawn in favour of an out-of-court settlement.

Meeting with Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, MPs issued a three-week ultimatum to resolve the university’s leadership crisis.

“Mr minister, we are giving you three weeks to resolve this issue,” Wamboka stated, adding, “We know the council is politicising this matter and as a House, we have powers to even disband it.”

The dispute centres on Wainaina’s tenure. While his term officially ends in January, the university council contends he should retire in July and has placed him on sabbatical leave pending retirement.

Several MPs voiced strong support for Wainaina. Moses Kirima (Central Imenti) alleged the vice-chancellor is “being fought due to his stand on corruption”.

He said: “Mr minister, why do you want this important old university that has trained many teachers to go down? Please do something about it.”

TUK layoffs

Kakai Bisau (Kiminini) advocated for allowing Wainaina to complete his term before appointing a successor, while Kilome MP Nzambia Thuddeus directly called for the council’s dissolution.

In the same session, Ogamba announced plans to downsize staff at Technical University of Kenya (TUK) to address the school’s financial crisis. The university faces pending bills of Sh12.9 billion and reportedly owes some employees money dating back to when it received its charter in 2013.

Ogamba defended the planned retrenchment as necessary, citing problematic staff ratios: “The teaching and non-teaching staff ratio is 70 percent against 30 percent instead of vice versa”, and the teacher-student ratio is 1:40 instead of the recommended 1:15.

The government, he said, plans to inject Sh145 million into TUK for the first half of 2025 to ensure timely salary payments, with additional phased grants planned through 2031/2032.