Kenya Insights

Tag: ministry of education

  • UASU calls off lecturers’ strike to pursue dialogue

    UASU calls off lecturers’ strike to pursue dialogue

    The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) has called off the national strike that was scheduled to kick off today (Monday), which would have paralysed operations in all the 35 public universities. A statement by the Union’s Secretary-General Constantine Wasonga said they decided to suspend the industrial action to give room for more negotiations with government representatives.

    UASU’s top leadership held a crisis meeting on Sunday in Nairobi with the Principal Secretary for University Education and Research Simon Nabukwesi where they reviewed the developments on the conciliation process initiated by the Ministry of Labour with an aim of ending the impasse.

    The parties that attended the meeting also agreed to review the outcome of the talks between the union and Inter-Public Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF) under the auspices of the National Implementation Committee (NIC) over the implementation of the 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) which has stalled.

    “Uasu national executive committee has directed that the union suspends its strike notice to give a final chance to dialogue,” Dr Wasonga said.

    But while calling off the strike Dr Wasonga noted that the NIC has agreed that all public universities must immediately submit to it returns for purposes of audit and enforcement of the compliance with the 2017-2021 CBA as he appreciated the members’ zeal to fight for the “dignity of the dons”.

    Wasonga also called for a review of the orders of the Employment and Labour Relations Court issued on August 26 after the suspension of the strike became a sigh of relief to the 35 public universities where learning would have been paralysed. The strike was also going to affect First Year students who set to join universities in September.

     

  • Prof Magoha On Spot Over Sh251 Million Procurement Scam

    Prof Magoha On Spot Over Sh251 Million Procurement Scam

    Auditor Generals report has exposed Prof Magoha-led Ministry of Education over procurement of 10 consultants at Sh251 million for the Schools Improvement Plan (SIP).

    “The committee observed that the classification of 10 regions was unclear as there was no standard format or guidelines on the same,” reads the report on the examination of the Auditor-General’s report on financial statements for the national government for financial year 2016/2017.

    SIP, funded by Global Partnership for Education under the World Bank, targets 4,000 schools that attained a mean score of 243 marks and above in the 2012 and 2013 KCPE exams. The plan, which has been extended for a year at Sh1.1 billion as part of the Sh8.8 billion Global Partnership for Education grant to the, and being implemented by the ministry under the supervision of the World Bank.

    Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi-led Public Accounts Committee said in a report that the disbursement of resources to regions was contrary to Article 201 of the Constitution

    Former Auditor-General Edward Ouko observed that the ministry awarded the contract without obtaining prior no-objection from the bank as required by World Bank guidelines on procurement of consultants.

    “In the circumstances, procurement of the consultants was done contrary to the banks procurement guidelines. The project management was therefore in breach of law and the propriety of expenditure totalling Sh251,637,245 could not be a proper charge to public funds for the year ended June, 30, 2017.”,” said the Auditor-General.

    The committee has rejected Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang response stating that the consultancy was advertised for the 10 regions and a common criteria derived from the terms of reference.

    “It is true that the evaluation report was not availed during the audit. The technical evaluation report for the 10 regions, showing strengths and weakness of bidders, is now available,” Belio said.