Moi University has defended its controversial move to lay off more than 1,200 staff, telling lawmakers that the decision was necessary to save the institution from financial collapse.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Education on Tuesday, acting Vice Chancellor Kiplagat Kotut said the university was overwhelmed by wage bills and had no option but to reduce staff numbers as a last resort.

Kotut told the committee that the institution had been operating at a loss for years, spending three times more than it earned.

“For every three shillings we were spending, we were making only one… The only way to save the institution was through rationalization. Redundancy was the last resort,” he said.

The university laid off 886 permanent and pensionable employees, along with 300 on contract.

The move is expected to save the institution Sh120 million each month, according to Kotut. However, Members of Parliament questioned the transparency of the process and whether labour laws were followed.

The government will spend about Sh757 million to compensate the affected staff.

Committee Chair Julius Melly questioned if due process was followed, citing concerns that some departments were spared while others were wiped out. Acting VC Kotut insisted that the process followed all legal requirements.

“We followed all the labour laws governing redundancy,” he said.

The Committee Chair also revealed that the redundancy process began in 2022 after a consultant’s report found the institution was financially unsustainable.

Moi University once had 37,000 students in 2015, but that number has dropped to around 20,000, sharply cutting revenue and the need for staff.

“Some staff had no workload. It was necessary to right-size,” the acting VC added.

MPs also raised concerns that unions were not consulted in the process.

Kotut denied this and said, “We had engagements with the unions and we have minutes to show that, we showed them the financial position of the institution and made it clear that there was no other way to resolve the matter.”

Another issue that came under scrutiny was the ethnic composition of staff. A report tabled before the committee showed that 737 out of 2,058 staff at Moi University were from the Nandi community, representing 36 percent.

The Kipsigis and Keiyo communities followed at nine percent, while the Luhya made up eight percent.

Vice Chairperson of the committee, Eve Obara, demanded an explanation on the Sh11 million paid to a consultant hired to guide the process, even as the university cited financial distress.

Kotut concluded by saying the National Cohesion and Integration Commission had been involved to ensure fairness in the redundancy process. Still, MPs continued to question if the university had been just in its treatment of staff.