Teaching Staff Profiles
Machakos University has a total of 97 teaching staff, ranging from Full Professors to Tutorial Fellows. Given this population and the student population of 8,253 the overall student to teaching staff ratio is approximately 84:1. However, this ratio does not reflect the actual ratios in the specific schools, departments and disciplines where some ratios are much lower.
Non-Teaching Staff profiles in the academic Division
The University has a total of 51 non-teaching staff ranging from Administrators in Academic grades to those in middle management represented by grades A-F and support staff in grades I-IV.
Core functions of Academic Division
The core functions and general activities of Machakos University
(a) Promote the development and expansion of higher education opportunities through initiation of new programmes and alternative modes of delivery using, among others, modern technologies.
(b) Conduct examinations for and to grant such academic awards as may be provided for in the Institution’s statutes
(c) Enhance the level of participation in research, dissemination and preservation of knowledge for both academic and societal development.
(d) Promote human resource development and proactive management practices, as well as good governance, to enhance service delivery.
(e) Provide an environment that nurtures excellence and high standards of professionalism in teaching, learning, and research and community service.
(f) Create equal opportunities for those qualified to pursue university education.
(g) Institutionalize quality assurance practices in planning, implementation and evaluation of the University’s core functions in order to meet the set goals.
(h) Promote the development of the students’ welfare systems for the attainment of academic excellence and an all-round education.
(i) Provide facilities in collaboration with other approved institutions for enhancing access to higher education including technological and professional education and research.
Success/Problems in fulfilling Aims and Objectives
Success
Academic despite varied challenges has achieved the following: –
• Recruited of qualified academic staff who are committed to teaching as well as undertaking research and consultancy services.
• Helped University to achieve of Charter status in a record 3 years.
• Successful mounted of a wide range of academic programmes.
• Creation of flexible admission systems.
• Implementation of Varied modes of learning
• Increased number of module II students from 24 in 2014 to over 2,000 by the end of December, 2017
Challenges
In spite of the success factors, the Institution faces the following challenges while trying to fulfil its objectives: –
• Shortage of Lecture Halls
Due to the influx of large number of students their number of Lecture halls are insufficient and this has led to threat by students to strike and occasional student’s unrests. The is trying to solve the problem by putting up extra building and Hostel facilities while some students are sent on long vacations.
• Trade Unions in Universities
The operations of the trade unions came at a time when government financial support to public universities was dwindling. This has put the university management in a difficult position with regard to union demands for improved remuneration. Trade unions operating at the university include Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU), Universities Non-Teaching Staff Union (KUSU), and the Kenya Union of Domestic Hotels and Educational Institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers Association (KUDHEIHA).
Currently there is a lecturer staff going-on affecting 4,400 students in January -April 2018 semester. Last year, the academic division and by large the University lost one full semester due to similar industrial action by the lectures. During the May-August semester, the University was running two semesters concurrently since the students who reported for January 2017 semester were forced to take their exams in June 2017.
Other challenges include: –
• Inadequate funding for research, training, physical facilities and equipment to support teaching and learning.
• Inadequate grants from the government for staff remuneration and development leading to high staff turnover or staff devising other ways to supplement their income thereby affecting overall productivity.
• Competition from other local and international universities offering similar programmes.