1. RECORDS MANAGEMENT
According to International Standard ISO 15489: 2001, records management is defined as:
The field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation,
receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and
maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of
records
Managing of records is a key business process that can‟t be foregone as it underpins strategic
planning, decision making, and other key operational activities and functions. In the human
rights context records provide important information used in by organizations to discharge
important services to its clients and employees, for example without a good record management
system in place an organization cannot be able to pay its employees their salaries and
allowances. It‟s always a bad practice since most organizations concentrate on service delivery
and lack the necessary record management system that will enable them to discharge these
functions effectively. Records are created or received in the business activities and also in the
day to day activities of an organization and they provide evidence and information about those
activities that took place, they come in all kinds of formats and media. A clear definition of a
record can be therefore recorded information produced or received in the initiation, conductor
deletion of an institutional or individual activity, and in which comprises sufficient content,
context and structure to provide evidence of an activity, regardless of forms or medium.
Many organizations are moving quickly towards the creation, storage, maintenance and retrieval
of their records and information solely in electronic form. In most areas, however, while many
records are electronically they are always maintained in paper form. Records can also be created
on the media rather than paper and electronic forms. Moi University for instance has employed
many staff who undertakes a varied range of functions and has complex administrative structures
often straddling multiple geographical locations. In order to operate as modern, agile and
efficient organization able to sustain growth and manage change it is essential that they have
effective control over the records they create and use. Historically the way in which internal
records have been managed has developed in a piecemeal, organic fashion – often in response to
local departmental requirements. It is now increasingly recognized that a more proactive,
consistent and comprehensive approach is required for the institution to be able to cope with
current and future demands.
The institution and its staff are under pressure to do more for less. This might be as a direct result
of an ever-increasing volume of students, or as universities are encouraged to branch out into
new agendas such as business and community engagement and the double intake program.
Creating accurate, reliable records; providing controlled, ready access to them and only retaining
those worthy of preservation are all part of the essential infra-structure necessary to meet these
challenges. This is especially true as it becomes less and less possible to rely on the knowledge
and experience of individual members of staff. Increased staff turnover and regular
organizational restructuring mean that the records an institution creates now represent its
„collective memory‟ to a far larger degree than ever before.

2. A study carried out by AP Nasieku, H Kemoni, and J Otike to investigate the management of
electronic records (e-records) at Moi University with the aim of investigating the management of
e-records within the context of the records continuum principle with a view to recommending a
framework that can be used to manage e-records. The study results revealed that despite Moi
University embracing the use of computers as a critical tool for information management and
communication in support of its business transactions, the management of e-records remained a
neglected area of the university record keeping system.
IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD RECORD
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
1. The Institution should be aware of the potential value contained within the internal records
they hold. This could be the lessons they contain from past experiences, allowing institutions to
learn both from their successes and their failures. Alternatively as knowledge-rich, research-
driven organizations it could be the competitive advantage or even commercial gain that can be
acquired through the effective exploitation of their information assets. An organizations file
contains the institutional; memory, an irreplaceable asset that is often overlooked by many, it‟s
only through records kept that one can be able to reconstruct about the event that took place in an
institution earlier. For this to be effective a good record management system must be in place to
ensure safety of records created by preserving them in a secure environment.
2. Provision of evidence: As the evidence left behind from the activities we undertake, records
are also an institution‟s best ally in terms of protecting its rights and interests. Effective records
management ensures that the institution can call upon a body of reliable evidence if required to
justify its actions, or defend its position. This may prove a critical strength as we move into an
increasingly litigious society. The primary purpose of records management is to ensure that all
the records that provide the evidence that the organization is carrying out its mandate are
captured. Records are the basis for organizational accountability, complying with legislative
requirements and the development of a corporate memory for the University. For records to be
able to do that they must be complete, accurate and reliable evidence of the transactions
conducted
3. Accountability: Institutions are also under ever-mounting pressure to proactively
demonstrate their accountability and good standards of corporate governance. This may take the
form of internal audit, submissions to funding bodies or public scrutiny through legislation such
as the Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and Data Protection
Act. Compliance with all of these is only possible if the appropriate body of records exists to
prove what actions were taken, why they were taken and on whose authority, and what their
outcomes were. This is only possible with effective records management system is in place.

3. 4. It is essential that the University, particularly in its faculties and schools, identifies and
maintains records series that provide evidence of its core activities of teaching, learning research
and the provision of public services. Indeed these are the key areas for faculties, and sometimes
records about these activities may not exist anywhere else on campus. In the area of management
it is possible that records not captured or maintained by the schools or faculties may be
maintained by central administration. Records of teaching tutorials and files of individual;
students are important in any institution. This will help in effective management of respective
faculties or schools.
5. To control the creation and growth of records, despite the measures put in place to enhance
the use of non-paper storage media, the amount of paper in most offices continues to increase.
For this to be dealt with in an effective manner good record management system must be put in
place to control both creation i.e. Limit the generation of records or copies not required to
operate the institution. And records retention i.e. a system for destroying useless records and
retiring inactive records through effective appraisal methods before taking them to the archives
6. Reduce operation costs; record keeping requires a lot of funds for acquiring filing
equipment, spaces in offices, and staffing to maintain an organized filing system. If an
organization does not have in place a records management program it will be forced to rent space
in records and archives centers which may turn out to be expensive in the long run. Therefore
there is the need of having in place a good records management strategy to be able to manage the
records effectively and independent of others. Though it may appear expensive it is cheap in the
long run.
7. To improve efficiency and productivity, time spend searching for files or misplaced
documents turns out to be unproductive in that it could have been used to do a more constructive
thing. A good records management program will ensure that files are kept in an organized
manner and in the order the y come, this leads to enhanced information retrieval therefore time
saving thus there is improved efficiency and productivity when at work.
CHALLENGES FACING RECORDS MANAGEMENT IN
MOI UNIVERSITY

4. Lack of policies and procedures to guide the management of e-records and lack of knowledge
and skills in records management and in particular e-records management
Information overload: The way in which we communicate and share information is evolving
from mostly physical formats to increasingly more electronic formats, including social media
platforms. Every agency is challenged with managing all information under a single policy in
order to account for and properly organize this deluge of data captured Social media in particular
presents a significant challenge for government agencies, as it often challenges the traditional
definitions of “what is a record.”
Lack of resources and general awareness: as per now moi university has few laid down
infrastructure to enable the development of a good records management program due to less
funds available to hire the required staff. Additionally not all employee are aware of of their role
in sharing the organization‟s collective responsibility to follow and reinforce information
management practices..
Decentralization: as per now Moi university has many satellite campuses and this may make it
hard to have a unified record management program since each campus has its own way of doing
things and its own traditions.
There is also the lack of policies and procedures to guide the management of e-records as per
now and this may pose a great challenge an how the records will be managed in an effective and
efficient way
Also most employees at moment lack the basic skills in records management and particularly e-
records
Security threat computers are pone t attacks by viruses and worm which may end up destroying
the file and lead to massive loss of information of the university

5. Possible solutions include
The university must ensure that its staff and especially those responsive for managing records
have been equipped with records management skills
Also the staff and users must be equipped with ICT skills to enable them work well in an
electronic environment and the university should raise awareness amongst staff on the
importance of managing records effectively
An electronic management system is essential requirement for this era of fast growing demand of
information. Paper records need to be scanned and developed into electronic document
management system which can be searched by use of key words, phrases etc. this will help
counter the amount of space required
An office manual can also be developed on the electronic documents/records management
system. This will help save lots of time spent searching records
The university must make sure that their computers are free from viruses by installing antiviruses
and ensuring that they are updated regularly.
The university should lay down required infrastructure to enable the records managers to
effectively perform their functions
REFERENCES
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/records-management/
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/esarjo/article/view/73069
http://www.tcls.org.au/01