Over 350 employees at the Technical University of Kenya have been removed from the payroll of the institution of higher learning following an audit that uncovered they held questionable academic documents.
We have established that all cadres of workers at the institution, including lecturers, have been affected and their working contracts will be terminated at the end of this month.
Authentication exercise of workers’ academic certificates began last December where verification was carried out with various institutions. The forged documents are for various levels of education.
A source at the university that confided in us yesterday, June 19, said some of the cases were going to be forwarded to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for further probe and probable prosecution.
The source added, “In total, there are about 350 sacked workers, including very senior members of the academic staff. Others are in lower ranks.” The TUK chapter of University Academic Staff Union has written to its members to plan on the way forward.
“The union chapter has been informed by colleagues regarding the matter. Some members of staff have received letters from the university management notifying them of their intended removal from the payroll, effective July 1, 2024. This is to inform all the affected members to immediately share with the Chapter Office details of their letters for advice on the way forward.”
“Given the varied reasons for the intended action by the management, it is prudent that the union and its members take a collective, responsible and reasonable approach to address the aforementioned letters,” reads a letter by the chapter secretary Fred Wanyonyi Sawenja.
When contacted, Mr Sawenja said the union office had been getting such information from members, adding that some of them had to do with certification. He declined to give the number of complaints so far received.
“I am still getting information. I can’t say how many have contacted the office but it’s about certification. Until I get the letters they were served, I can’t comment and we don’t have the exact number. We’ll advise them based on the letters they receive. There are various reasons but it’s confidential information,” Mr Sawenja said.
This followed allegations that TUK had a bloated workforce, and after some new appointments and promotions of academic staff were done, there were claims of impropriety in the appointments. Thereafter, the management of TUK, last year, set out to update its staff establishment.
In a memo sent in June 2023, the director for human resource management asked all units, schools, faculties and centre administrators to carry out a headcount of staff and indicate the positions available but that were vacant.
The authorities have been alarmed by cases of falsified academic qualifications. In April, EACC said it had 1,473 reports on falsification of academic documents by public and State officers as of February 2024 to secure jobs or promotions.
According to the Commission’s chief executive, Mr Twalib Mbarak, there are 1,337 others under investigation. Recently, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said over 10,000 people were on the government payroll but held dubious qualifications.