The Commission for University Education’s decision on March 11 to crack down on more than 15 private universities offering degrees has attracted praise and criticism in equal measure from different corners of our country.
In January this year, Northwestern Christian University conferred honorary degrees to prominent politicians and education officials in Eldoret National Polytechnic. The event generated unparalleled discussions as to whether the candidates of the circumstance merited the honour and, secondly, the university’s accreditation status and scope of operation in Kenya.
Many concerned stakeholders are still wondering how the institution mapped out the persons to be awarded honorary degrees in the January event. This also raises concerns about how Education officers honoured in the event agreed to be listed for degrees without authenticating the university’s accreditation status. Did the same officials seek permission from their superiors before lining up for the event from an institution that is now under tight scrutiny from the Ministry of Education?
The continued award of degrees by the same institution was witnessed three weeks ago on the coast. The DCI took swift action to halt the graduation ceremony of over 100 graduates. Despite the widespread information from CUE on the institution’s activities, there seems to be an underlying energy from unknown sources that emboldens the university.
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Many stakeholders have begun registering dissatisfaction with how the institution keeps renouncing its activities. They argued that the university’s operations would comprise the country’s education standards by injecting quacks into the employment sector.
They urged the government to crack down on the institution’s operations seriously; otherwise, the system would be watered, as more illegal colleges would go unnoticed in the country.
By John Sambaya.
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