Varsities brand KRA as an enemy of development and academic excellence
Dons have asked the government to invest in mega-research and repeal laws that restrict research funding “because universities thrive on research.”
“Universities are not funded adequately. Most of them lack the necessary equipment to carry out research. No wonder even TVET institutions have better facilities than universities,” the report by the university manager said.
They also chastised the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), branding it an enemy of development and academic excellence for taxing research equipment.
“It is sad that some of the equipment KRA is taxing are those that have been donated to the universities. And because the money is not always available, some of the equipment has been abandoned at the ports of entry,” the report said further.
It added: “Successive governments have also failed to recognize top researchers and this has led to despair and dampened the spirits of the upcoming ones.”
The university administrators also accused the ICT ministry of failing to connect the institutions of higher learning to the internet, as is the case with other government entities.
They stated that universities, as transformative factors in economic development, should not be without internet connectivity, and in fact, they should be linked to the National Fiber Optic Backbone.
The university administrators stated that they will lobby political leaders to recognize universities’ role as agents of national transformation and wealth creation.
At the same time, academic leaders stated that deans of faculties should be appointed rather than elected by lecturers, as is currently the case.
The chairperson of the Inter Public Universities Council Consultative Forum (IPUCCF), Prof Geoffrey Muluvi, who is also the VC of South Eastern Kenya University, was among those who attended the conference in Mombasa last week, which was officially opened by University Education Principal Secretary Simon Nabukwesi.
