{"id":112194,"date":"2025-03-20T08:04:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T08:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/03\/20\/govt-moves-to-secure-resumption-of-learning-at-tuk-amid-financial-struggles\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T08:04:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T08:04:23","slug":"govt-moves-to-secure-resumption-of-learning-at-tuk-amid-financial-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/govt-moves-to-secure-resumption-of-learning-at-tuk-amid-financial-struggles\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt moves to secure resumption of learning at TUK amid financial struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 20 \u2013 Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has acknowledged the severe pension fund crisis at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), highlighting a Sh4.3 billion shortfall as part of the university\u2019s Sh12.9 billion debt burden.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Appearing before the National Assembly Education committee Wednesday, he detailed the government\u2019s plan to address the pension issue and other financial challenges affecting the institution.<\/p>\n

University\u00a0Unions have decried that delayed salaries have compounded financial challenges for TUK workers, with unions pointing to the non-remittance of statutory and third-party deductions as a key issue.<\/p>\n

Loan repayments have remained outstanding for more than ten months, exposing workers to prosecution, blacklisting by credit reference bureaus, and auction threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo stabilize the university\u2019s finances, the Ministry of Education has partnered with TUK to implement a Strategic Intervention Plan (STIPA), which includes Direct payroll support as the government will provide Sh145 million from January to June 2025 to ensure timely salary payments,\u201d Ogamba stated.<\/p>\n

As an interim measure, the university has prioritized the immediate settlement of December 2024 salaries and advance payments for January and February 2025 to cushion affected staff. However, these efforts fall short of clearing the massive pension backlog.<\/p>\n

Pension Arrears<\/strong><\/p>\n

The higher learning institution\u2019s financial struggles have directly impacted on its retired employees, who have been left without access to their benefits. In response, the university has committed to a repayment plan spanning multiple financial years to settle pension arrears.<\/p>\n

\u201cTUK has pledged to provide funds from the 2025\/2026 financial year through to 2031\/2032 to settle outstanding liabilities under the wound-up staff retirement scheme,\u201d Ogamba stated.<\/p>\n

This is even as investigations are ongoing to establish culprits behind the collapse of the Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (SRBS), which was dissolved in 2017 following a court ruling, resulting in the loss of Sh5.3 billion in savings.<\/p>\n

The Education Cabinet Secretary revealed by the time the fund was wounded it only had Sh590 million pointing to outright theft of the staff pension kitty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is something not right because by the time the pension was being wounded it was Sh590 million. Thats why we need to know exactly what was the issue,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

For retired staff members of the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), the issue was financial security in their later years has turned into a painful waiting game. With Sh4.3 billion in pension arrears, many retirees have been left without the benefits they spent years working for.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers\u2019 concern<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pension scheme\u2019s collapse has left thousands of current and former employees uncertain about their future. Many expect to retire with financial stability but are now struggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pensioner lost Sh5.3 billion when the two pension schemes were wounded up in in unclear circumstances. What actions have you taken to ensure that people behind this are brought to book?\u201d\u00a0 committee chair Julius Melly posed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you telling us that the government has knowingly allowed universities to default on pension payments? This is an illegality that must be addressed,\u201d Mandera South MP Abdi Ebrahim stated.<\/p>\n

Teso South MP Mary Emase raised concerns on a trend within higher learning institutions where pensioners lose their funds over unclear circumstances with no punitive actions taken.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have received reports of two cases where pensioners have lost their contributions to the pension scheme. We need to know how the Sh5 Billion got lost,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

Reviving Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently, the university has formally requested approval from the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) to establish a new pension scheme for staff from all three unions. This measure, according to the education cabinet secretary, aims to secure the future financial stability of employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn February 24, 2025, TUK formally requested the RBA to authorize the establishment of a new staff benefit scheme,\u201d Ogamba confirmed.<\/p>\n

The government has also outlined a strategy to compensate affected staff members by prioritizing payments for December 2024 salaries and advancing funds for January and February 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cA detailed repayment plan has been put in place, including immediate settlement of December 2024 salaries and advance payments for January and February 2025,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the government has pledged that a phased approach will be used to clear arrears related to pension benefits, union dues, central remittances, and salary arrears over the coming years.<\/p>\n

Beyond pension obligations, TUK is grappling with other financial burdens, including statutory deductions amounting to Sh6.7 billion, Bank, SACCO, and insurance deductions totaling Sh305 million and staff claims amounting to Sh398.8 million<\/p>\n

The Education Cabinet Secretary forensic audit has also been planned to verify the actual figures of the university\u2019s financial liabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ministry of Education will channel conditional grants to bridge the budget gap, ensuring financial stability for TUK in the long term,\u201d Ogamba stated.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s long-term strategy includes injecting Sh1.2 billion in 2025\/2026, followed by progressive allocations up to 2032, ensuring that pensioners receive their dues in phases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not require the entire Sh4.3 billion today because not all pensioners need their full amount at once. We will ensure that those retiring receive their money while we rebuild the pension fund gradually,\u201d Ogamba explained.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 20 \u2013 Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has acknowledged the severe pension fund crisis at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), highlighting a Sh4.3 billion shortfall as part of the university\u2019s Sh12.9 billion debt burden. \u00a0Appearing before the National Assembly Education committee Wednesday, he detailed the government\u2019s plan to address the pension […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}