Matiang'i extends Laban Ayiro's contract at Moi University

Moi University acting Vice-Chancellor Laban Ayiro’s contract has been extended for three months.

Prof Ayiro was appointed in September following the expiry of Prof Richard Mibey's term.

However, Nation.co.ke has learnt that Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has granted him three more months to give the university’s council more time to select a substantive vice-chancellor.

CAUSED UPROAR

Prof Ayiro’s contract was set to expire at the end of the year.

His appointment to the position in September caused uproar, with some leaders from the region storming the university in protest.

The leaders included Governors Jackson Mandago (Uasin Gishu) and Alex Tolgos (Elgeyo-Marakwet), MPs Oscar Sudi (Kapseret), James Bett (Kesses) and Silas Tiren (Moiben) and Uasin Gishu Speaker Isaac Terer.

They claimed Prof Isaac Kosgey should instead have been given the job since he emerged top during the interviews.

FRUSTRATING

In the three months Prof Ayiro has been at the helm, he has been praised by many for turning around the fortunes of the once vibrant but now ailing university.

In his recent address to students and staff, he described his stint as not only exhilarating and fascinating but also frustrating.

But the frustrations, he added, would not deter him from focusing on what lies ahead in his quest to restore the institution to its former glory.

“My first two months have been an extraordinary and exhilarating experience...I have attended strategy meetings, spoken to students, popped into lectures uninvited and listened to every perspective… I am still learning the ways of Moi,” he said.

BAILOUT

His frustrations, he said, stemmed from the university's financial troubles, which were so dire officials had to seek a bailout from the Treasury to keep its operations going.

“I would never have imagined seeing myself in situations where as Chief Executive, hospitals reject Moi University patients, newspapers can’t pick our advertisements, suppliers only supply when our cheques go through, statutory deductions are in arrears and an institution that is stuck with a bloated workforce,” he said.

PAINFUL CHOICES

“We therefore have to make tough and at times painful choices and take up greater responsibilities to revive the institution,” he added.

Prof Ayiro said he was ready to give his last drop of blood to ensure the university returns to its former glory.

“Please, don’t judge me by my ethnic [background]. Let us be one, there are those who perpetuate ethnic inclination, they are destroying our university . . . this institution is great because of our diversity, we have students from every corner of Kenya, let us change,” he said.