Education Ministry under fire for prolonged acting vice-chancellor appointments in universities, recurring strikes

Education Ministry under fire for prolonged acting vice-chancellor appointments in universities, recurring strikes - Members of the Public Accounts Committee during a meeting with Ministry of Education officials at Bunge Tower on October 22, 2026. (Photo: FB/Parliament of Kenya)

The Committee has also urged the Ministry to find a lasting solution to recurring university strikes that have disrupted learning and burdened students and their parents.

The Ministry of Education is under pressure over the continued appointment of acting vice-chancellors in public universities, with the Public Accounts Committee raising concerns over leadership uncertainty.

The Committee has also urged the Ministry to find a lasting solution to recurring university strikes that have disrupted learning and burdened students and their parents.

Appearing before the Committee at Bunge Towers in Nairobi on Thursday, Principal Secretary for Higher Education and Research Beatrice Inyangala said the Ministry was working with university councils to ensure substantive appointments are made by June 2027.

Committee Chairperson Tindi Mwale questioned the Ministry’s plans to resolve the matter, warning that officials serving in acting capacities could be hesitant to make key decisions because of uncertainty over their positions.

“The issue of acting vice-chancellors and other top university officials is a very uncomfortable subject. What is the Ministry doing to address this matter?” Mwale asked.

In response, Inyangala expressed optimism that the appointment process would be concluded by the end of the current academic year.

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Principal Secretary for Higher Education and Research Beatrice Inyangala during a session with the Public Accounts Committee. (Photo: FB/Parliament of Kenya)

“By the end of the current academic year, in June 2027, we hope to have settled the matter once and for all,” she said.

The Committee also raised concerns over recurring strikes by university lecturers, noting that industrial disputes have disrupted academic programmes and placed an additional burden on students and their parents.

Inyangala said the Government remained committed to dialogue with university unions, adding that engagement with the unions had been ongoing since last year in a bid to address their grievances.

“Some of the issues the dons have raised are under parallel discussion with the Public Service Commission. We are negotiating with all stakeholders, including the unions, and we will resolve this matter soon,” she told the Committee.

The PS said discussions with the relevant stakeholders were continuing as the Ministry sought to resolve the disputes affecting public universities.

The session was held as the Committee examined the Auditor-General’s reports for the 2024/2025 financial year. Among the university officials present were Acting Moi University Vice-Chancellor Professor Kiplagat Kotut, Cooperative University Vice-Chancellor Professor Kamau Ngamau and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology Vice-Chancellor Professor Emily Akuno.