Nipate
Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Logan on October 10, 2014, 11:36:55 PM
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:D
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Yep. I was reading the ruling on the hustler's appeal against witnesses.
GoK had no idea what the appeal was about. It still put in a lot of words in opposition to getting witnesses to testify in a case about the slaughter of its own citizens.
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Country falling apart as empty suits parade to town for the cheering jobless.. :(
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Rapid expansion and a deepening financing crisis at the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) has pushed thousands of university students into a life of squalor and destitution that is now threatening to dilute the quality of graduates from the institutions of higher learning.
Even as Kenya proudly displays the large number of its citizens now getting university education – currently admitting more than 40,000 freshmen a year – intense economic pressure is driving students into life in the slums, starvation and criminal activity with little time to concentrate on studies.
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In large cities like Nairobi with a large student population, authorities say financial hardship is driving students into criminal activity such as peddling and consumption of drugs and prostitution with devastating results on their academic performance.
In Nairobi, for instance, an acute shortage of accommodation in the universities has seen a mushrooming of semi-permanent structures in the city’s slums and chaotic Eastlands district for renting out to students as hostels.
The deepening financing crisis is underlined by the fact that more than one third of the freshmen who were to start their degree programmes in September have not formally reported because they have no money to pay the required fees.
The financial hardship is expected to continue till next month when Helb has promised to start disbursing loans to qualified students – most of who will have spent two months in squalor.
Most universities require students to pay admission fees and other charges to get formally registered for courses.
The fees, excluding accommodation charges paid for the limited bed space available in campuses, now stand at an average of Sh28,000, way above the reach of many parents whose children are seeking admission.
Over the past month, the Business Daily has visited and spoken to thousands of university students living in cramped, stuffy, poorly lit rooms in Nairobi’s low income neighbourhoods of Makongeni, Kaloleni, Mbotela and Land Mawe.
Land Mawe, an old, low-cadre railway workers’ estate on the edge of Nairobi’s CBD, is one of the assets that Kenya Railways transferred to its Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme as part of the settlement of a Sh10 billion debt it owed the workers’ pension fund.
Members of the retirement scheme, who now own the property, appear to have become entrepreneurial and built small, semi-permanent structures where they accommodate students at a fee.
“The situation here is dire as you can see. University students, in fact nobody, should be living in these conditions,” said Alfred Kemboi, a former resident of the area who completed his studies in April and is now on attachment with a small bank.
Over at Kenyatta University, students who did not secure rooms on campus have sought accommodation in the crowded Kahawa Sukari, Roysambu and Kahawa Wendani estates.
Kilometer 101 or simply KM, an informal, crime-infested neighbourhood located outside the university’s main campus however remains the preferred settlement area for destitute students.
The informal settlements are mostly occupied by continuing students because the university gives freshmen priority for on-campus hostels.
“We found ourselves here when First Year students reported, taking most of the hostels in campus,” said one of the students even as he pointed to the irony of the name that their landlord chose for their humble abode, Siku Njema –Kiswahili for good day.
The long row of iron sheet structure is divided into single rooms just enough to accommodate two beds and a cooking place. The occupants share communal toilets and washrooms located outside.
This level of squalor would be a shocker to thousands of graduates (now parents), who passed through the institutions of higher learning two decades ago when the universities accommodated all students on campus, fed and gave them living allowances.
The accommodation crisis is underlined by the fact that Kenya has in the past five years rapidly converted tens of its middle-level colleges with skeletal infrastructure into universities.
Three-year-old Technical University of Kenya (formerly Kenya Polytechnic), for instance, has just two hostels for males in Nairobi’s South B and another for women at Community totalling less than 1,000 rooms and where students pay Sh7,200 per semester against a student population of 13,600.
“The University College does not guarantee accommodation to students. Many of our students find accommodation with the help of the Dean’s office,” says a notice on the university’s website.
George Magoha, the vice chancellor of the University of Nairobi, admitted that universities are facing an accommodation crisis even as he reported that about 70 per cent of UoN students live on campus.
Prof Magoha admitted that the condition of some of UoN’s hostels is the reason the students are charged very low fees for the rooms.
“This is not an excuse for the conditions of some of the hostels but we are really trying to maintain them without pricing them out of the reach of most students,” he said.
Prof Magogha described running communal hostels as a big enterprise that pays Sh28 million in electricity bills and Sh8 million in water bills every month.
UoN is planning to construct a Sh3 billion hostel along Harry Thuku Road to house between 2,000 and 3,000 students who will pay between Sh50-100 per day.
Kenyatta University is to build a Sh1 billion housing complex at its main campus through that will house about 6,000 students.
But as these institutions lay out plans to ease the housing nightmare, continuing students continue to suffer. The main reason for this is a government double intake policy which was adopted in 2011 in order to delink admissions from bed space.
http://www.jambonewspot.com/financing-crisis-pushes-kenyan-university-students-life-slums/
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failed leadership kabisa. it would make more sense if these greedy jubilee leaders were stealing mhindi land in karen to build hostels or institution of higher learning. I do not feel sorry for kenyans anymore they deserve what they get for voting for these people
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Never understood this stupidity of red carpets with African leaders. POTUS Obama, does not get the red carpet rolled out all the time he travels. Bure kabisa these two criminals and that fat general.
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These bastards have to be removed by force. They rig elections and even if they didn't the so called opposition is just another bunch of schemers. Listening to "Bishop" Wanjiru talking of the deals she stuck to still end up in the senate after being found uttering fake academic documents broke my heart. In other words ODM is willing to accommodate such characters within its ranks just so they can get that one extra corrupt vote!
There are many people in Kenya ... decent people from all tribes who would vote for anybody they were sure would clean the system.
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Force is counterproductive.
We just have to wait it out. Maybe not in your life time. Its 50yrs and counting.
These bastards have to be removed by force. They rig elections and even if they didn't the so called opposition is just another bunch of schemers. Listening to "Bishop" Wanjiru talking of the deals she stuck to still end up in the senate after being found uttering fake academic documents broke my heart. In other words ODM is willing to accommodate such characters within its ranks just so they can get that one extra corrupt vote!
There are many people in Kenya ... decent people from all tribes who would vote for anybody they were sure would clean the system.
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Governors need to build massive apartment complexes so as to alleviate the current shortage.
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We need new leaders for starters. Visionaries and not reactionaries - Uhuruto.
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Get rid of everyone in the current system. Have a new generation sign a "contract with Kenya". Must adhere to a very strict code of conduct to qualify. Start slow county by county.
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Kenyans have exactly the "leaders" they *want* and deserve. The real problem is not the "leaders"; it is the people who get them into those positions. Every 5 years, Kenyans elect their "leaders" on the most questionable of basis and then proceed, between the elections, to profess all sorts of "surprised emotion": they are selfish! they only want to eat and not serve us! thieves and scoundrels, the entire lot! we will throw then out at the next elections!
Sigh.
Things will change only when:
(a) Kenyans decide that enough is enough and they want genuine and lasting change. That will require enacting the change and having the will to sustain it.
(b) People recognize---*really* recognize---that choices have consequences and vote on the basis of who can do what rather than "from my village"/"our man"/"bought busaa for the men and sugar & tea for the women".
The unfortunate reality:
* In 50 years, Kenya has been at (a) only twice and there has been no effort to sustain what had been achieved. The first time was after Moi had really beaten the crap out of them, and even then it took 24 years of savagery; the change was that Moi went out. The second time was after 10 years of Kibaki's shite; the change was the new constitution. In both cases there has not been the commitment to stay away from the past rot and forge a truly new path.
* Kenyans will wail and gnash their teeth---24/7, 365 per---about thieves this and that, but in Kenya if you have a chance to steal big and you don't, you are taken for a fool; and if you have a chance to steal big but steal small, you will be taken for a fool *and* the courts will lock you up for a long time. But if you steal big, you will be a hero, which explains some of the colourful characters that are now governors, senators, etc.
* The same Kenyans of the preceding paragraph will, while unemployed, hungry, etc., show up to cheer the "big men". And that's not even the half of it: they are prepared to kill, rape, and burn for that "our man" who actually does very little for them. How's that for mass stupidity?
* Considering what is at stake, Kenyans are very apathetic about exercising their democratic rights. For the last elections, take a look at (i) the numbers eligible to vote, (ii) the numbers who registered to vote, and (iii) the numbers who actually showed up to vote. And funnily enough, some people look at only (iii) while overlooking the fact that 100% of nothing is nothing.
Those who are concerned about votes and how they count should start at (i) and not just "100% voted for our man; if he lost, the election must have been stolen!". More importantly, we have a very large number of people who don't bother to even get started but will have an endless list of complaints about the results.
* I found it instructive that Peter Kenneth, my preferred candidate in 2013, could not, despite what he had done, get more votes than Uhuru in his "areas". That sort of idiocy, in which "our man" matters more than past performance, potential for future performance (judged on an objective basis), character, etc., is repeated all over the country. And it was truly bizarre to see ODM have "rigged and stolen" party primaries and then go on to complain about "rigged and stolen" national elections!
As things stand, it's hard to see how Jubilee could lose the 2017 elections. Those who claim to detest them---and this includes the political opposition and the "raia"---are not focused on what should be happening. There is no concerted attempt at broad civic education; there is no genuine discussion (at any level) as to what would be better as alternatives; there is no serious understanding that what is required will have to start with fundamental changes at the grassroots, etc. Instead, it is all about "exciting", "headline-grabbing", stuff---a referendum about nothing (at least the governors seem to have something concrete to "referend" about), this huge accusation against that coalition and that huge accusation against this one. And in the meantime, the huge corruption scandals continue to fly in, thick and fast; unemployment and starvation continue to rise; the public health system is so far gone that one can understand the sort of absurd statement recently made by some American religious types, etc.
Things actually don't look very bright for Kenya. Forget the middle-income nonsense, "the Chinese will save us", and whatever the bought-and-paid-for media chooses to peddle. Travel around Kenya and see for yourself.
The current "political leadership" on both sides are simply not capable of bringing about the necessary changes. In particular, it is probably pointless to complain that the government or this MP or that senator is not doing what it/she/he was elected to do. Those folks were not elected on the basis of their ability to do anything, and they know it. So why should they? That leaves us with just three broad options:
(a) Wait for evolution to do its thing. That might take a while, but it seems "guaranteed". In the meantime business can continue as usual: our man! our people! our turn to eat!
(b) Wait for the Forest-Fire. Forest fires frequently start naturally---Veritas can tell you about the gum trees in South Australia when temperatures hit 40C +---and are in fact NATURE's way of a certain kind of rejuvenation. Several countries are currently doing it that way: starting from scratch.
(c) Pray for the miraculous arrival of a new type of political leader .... the "real leader" kind. (Of course while praying don't forget that today's church "leaders" are also mostly scoundrels---money, luxury, booze, pussy, etc.)
HISTORICAL ADVICE FROM KENYAN PRESIDENTS TO THE PEOPLE:
I: "Nita wa siaga kama unga."
II: "Kaeni hivyo hivyo in the shit."
III: "Kazi ya corruption iendelee."
IV: "Accept getting fucked and move on."
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They pooped based on ICC, now they have to clean it. Kenyatta will be attracting a 2million/month pension, so he won't be around. Raila and co are no help either. Look at what they did at the lands office - same thing that Moi did and that is nothing.
Things actually don't look very bright for Kenya. Forget the middle-income nonsense, "the Chinese will save us", and whatever the bought-and-paid-for media chooses to peddle. Travel around Kenya and see for yourself.
The current "political leadership" on both sides are simply not capable of bringing about the necessary changes. In particular, it is probably pointless to complain that the government or this MP or that senator is not doing what it/she/he was elected to do. Those folks were not elected on the basis of their ability to do anything, and they know it. So why should they? That leaves us with just two broad options:
(a) Wait for evolution to do its thing. That might take a while, but it seems "guaranteed". In the meantime business can continue as usual: our man! our people! our turn to eat!
(b) Wait for the Forest-Fire. Forest fires frequently start naturally---Veritas can tell you about the gum trees in South Australia when temperatures hit 40C +---and are in fact NATURE's way of a certain kind of rejuvenation. Several countries are currently doing it that way: starting from scratch.
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The one thing westerners get that Africans will take a long time to get is that garbage in equals garbage out. You can't plant maize seeds and expect to be harvesting popcorn. Americans don't mess with their institutions because they know that ultimately principles govern, and you don't want to take the chance that a person with weak principles will be deciding your fate.
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Now this..what a doomed country...more fake leaders in empty suits, fake universities, fake exams.. :oops:
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Fake-papers-on-sale-countrywide-ahead-of-national-exams/-/1056/2489088/-/b35l1i/-/index.html
Examination papers believed to be those candidates will sit from Tuesday are selling openly in various parts of the country.
The Kenya National Examination Council Thursday announced that some centres in Garissa, Kisii, Oyugis, Nyamira, Rongo and Eastleigh in Nairobi had been earmarked as cheating hot-spots.
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This came as a 21-year-old Kenyatta University student was arrested last evening in Manga, Nyamira County with “exam” papers loaded onto a flash disk.
Knec security officials who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the exam malpractice said the student will be arraigned this morning.
Extra security personnel and Knec officials are also being dispatched to the areas to ensure cheating does not happen.
Knec dismissed as “fake” any papers selling in the streets and warned of dire consequences for anyone found engaging in the scam.
A number of “fake” exam papers have already been confiscated in the areas even as Knec said distribution of next week’s test papers to armouries across the country starts today.
Security officials have been deployed in the regions, although Knec did not confirm if any other arrests had been made so far.
Acting council secretary Joseph Kivilu said that the Form Four examination will start on Tuesday, with 485,547 candidates in 8,211 examination centres writing the tests.
They will be served by 828 distribution centres.
Exam results of 3,353 candidates from 36 national and county schools were cancelled because they cheated in the Form Four exams last year.
The schools were also not ranked because the administrators failed to report the cheating to Knec.
The institutions were in Siaya, Meru, Nairobi, Tana River, Wajir, Homa Bay, Kisii, Nyandarua, Migori, Kisumu, Busia, Narok, Nandi and Mandera counties.
There are 31 subjects to be tested this year, with candidates required to sit for a minimum of seven and a maximum of nine subjects.
Council acting chief executive officer Joseph Kivilu said the distribution will be carried out under security surveillance. The national examiner admitted that fake examination papers were now in circulation ahead of the start of the national examination.
“The dispatch of the examination papers and other examination materials to over 1,000 distribution centres across the country will be carried out weekly. These centres are mainly police armories and chief’s camps,” said Dr Kivilu during a media briefing at Knec offices in Nairobi.
WEEKLY BASIS
He added that for all regions except Nairobi and Mombasa municipality, the examination will be distributed on a weekly basis to the district headquarters where they will be received by district education officers for further dispatch to distribution centres.
“The supervisors will pick the papers for the day from distribution centres and keep them in the examination room to ensure their safety,” said Dr Kivilu.
He further disclosed that monitoring of the examination will be done by officers from Knec, Ministry of Education, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and the Teachers Service Commission, among other stakeholders.
Dr Kivilu said that Knec had taken all steps necessary to ensure the smooth running and credibility of the examinations.
He said guidelines had been issued on timetables, security of examination papers and examination ethics for all head teachers.
Others include instructions for the conduct of all candidates and on the use of mobile phones in an examination centre.
He added that orals and practicals in foreign language and home science examinations started on September 29, while theory papers begun on October 14 and will run up to November 7.
He said for this year’s KCPE examination rehearsals start on November 3, the first paper starts on November 4 and the examination ends on November 6.
Dr Kivilu said the examination will be administered to 889,107 KCPE candidates who will sit for the examination in 24,278 examination centres that will be served by 1,056 distribution centres.
“The examination will test seven subjects in nine papers,” he said.
The council acting chief executive officer added that in case of a national strike by teachers, the council will adjust accordingly saying that they were prepared for any eventuality.
The council has also barred candidates sitting for this year’s national examination from using clipboards in the examination as has been the tradition.
Council head of research and quality assurance Joyce Sabari said investigations had revealed that most candidates were using the clipboards for cheating.
“The answer sheet that we are providing to candidates is big enough and therefore candidates will not be allowed to carry clipboards any more,” said Ms Sabari.
She also said that candidates will not be allowed to carry mathematical tables and calculators except during mathematics paper.
“Some candidates do even carry the mathematical tables and calculators for Kiswahili and English papers yet those subjects do not require such tools,” said Ms Sabari.
Dr Kivilu said that the council had engaged the service of 134,435 contracted professionals to manage KCPE while and 52,997 professionals would manage KCSE examinations.
“We have 24,283 supervisors, 55,505 invigilators, 48,576 security personnel and 6,071 drivers for KCPE while 8,188 supervisors and 27,874 invigilators, 14,936 security personnel and 1,999 drivers for KCSE,” said Dr Kivilu.
MAY NOT SIT FOR EXAM
However, several candidates may not sit for the examination until they pay for the examination with those sitting for KCPE having until November 3 while KCSE have until Friday.
At the same time, the council yesterday raised an alarm over fake examination papers that are now in circulation ahead of the start of the main national examination on Tuesday and cautioned candidates against being duped.
“There those who have already printed fake papers and are on sale between sh50, 000 and sh200, 000 a set. Some of these papers have been intercepted by the council,” said the council acting chief executive officer.
Dr Kivilu further disclosed that the council had established that there were also candidates who were already collecting money in preparation for buying examination papers.
He added that university and college students are playing major role in exacerbating these irregularities.
“We are going on with our investigations in various parts of the country and once we are done the suspects will be taken to court,” said Dr Kivilu.
However, he said no suspect had been arrested so far in connection with the printing and selling fake examination papers.
Dr Kivilu said that action will be taken against those who engage in irregularities as per the Knec Act.
More than 1.4million candidates will be sitting for the 2014 national examination across the country.
Beside the KCPE and KCSE examination, the council will also be administering three other examinations in November and December this year and which include Business, technical and early childhood development education examinations.
He said the field administration of the business and technical will run from Novemvber 12 to 21 with the examination being administered to 15,224 candidates in 180 examination centres that will be served by 117 distribution centres.
The technical examination will be administered to 25,699 candidates in 240 examination centres served from 120 distribution centres with 1,861 contracted professional being involved in the field administration of these examinations.
ECDE examination will be administered to 43,185 candidates in 1,263 examination centres in an examination that will take place from December 8 to 11.
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Re: Total Ineptitude Nationwide..Matatu Mentality.. sad!
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Kenya Airways runs out of fuel midair, makes emergency landing in Mombasa.. :oops:
http://www.jambonewspot.com/kenya-airways-runs-out-of-fuel-midair-makes-emergency-landing-in-mombasa/
A Kenya Airways plane with 38 passengers on board from Delhi, India, had to make an emergency landing at Moi International Airport in Mombasa on Monday.
The plane was set to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport but had to be diverted to Mombasa.
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The initial explanation given was that the aircraft had run out of fuel.
The airline’s incoming Chief Executive however explained in a subsequent statement that the plane had developed a mechanical fault in the fuel control system mid-air.
“The aircraft developed a mechanical fault in the fuel control system and although it had enough fuel, it needed to land at the nearest alternate airport.
“This was also a precautionary measure as the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport airspace was closed for Mashujaa day celebrations at the time it was to land in Nairobi,” a statement by Mr . Mbuvi Ngunze said.
The Boeing 737- 700 carrying 38 passengers was due to arrive in Nairobi at 12.20pm.
Moi International Airport manager Mr Yatich Kangogo had earlier said the plane landed safely in Mombasa at 12.07 pm.
He said the plane had departed from Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi, India, before it run out of fuel. He said it was diverted to Mombasa as it is nearer than JKIA.
“The aircraft developed low fuel mid-air, with its reserves unable to cover the Nairobi distance, so it was diverted here to refuel,” Mr Kangogo said.
He said all the passengers on board the KQ Boeing 737-800 plane were safe.
-nation.co.ke
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Never understood this stupidity of red carpets with African leaders. POTUS Obama, does not get the red carpet rolled out all the time he travels. Bure kabisa these two criminals and that fat general.
Red carpet? Perhaps they should built a road for the big man using this.
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Brilliant Bryn Brilliant...am so ...
The one thing westerners get that Africans will take a long time to get is that garbage in equals garbage out. You can't plant maize seeds and expect to be harvesting popcorn. Americans don't mess with their institutions because they know that ultimately principles govern, and you don't want to take the chance that a person with weak principles will be deciding your fate.
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Waheshimiwa are only qualified by tribe... :lol: :lol: :lol:
Here in lies the clue...Supremacy wars among top policemen are hampering operations at the Directorate of Criminal Investigation.
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DEPUTY Nairobi police boss Moses Ombati is fighting for his life after he was poisoned by unidentified people.
Ombati was moved to the Nairobi Hospital’s High Dependency Unit yesterday after his situation got worse.
Ombati, the Deputy Nairobi County Commander, was rushed to a hospital in South B after taking a soft drink at a popular shopping centre in the area Friday night.
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He had been served a glass of juice.
He was later transferred to Nairobi Hospital after his mouth and face started swelling.
Initial reports indicate that Ombati met a group of people at the shopping complex and was served juice. It is not known what the other people with him were served, but, shortly thereafter, the police boss started having difficulty breathing and his mouth and whole face began swelling.
Police have began investigations into the incident and have collected samples from the restaurant which have been taken to the Government Chemist for analysis. Who wanted to poison the police boss and for what reason remains a huge mystery.
Detectives also want the people who were with Ombati for interrogation and to record statements.
“It is true that the Deputy Nairobi County Commander is in hospital for what is suspected to be poisoning. Investigations into the incident have began to establish what happened and who might have done it,” a senior police officer privy to the investigations but who sought anonymity because of the case’s sensitivity said.
– THE-STAR.CO.KE
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Monday, November 10, 2014
Three public universities have been forced to recruit lecturers from foreign countries to meet fresh quality demands by the Engineers Board of Kenya.
The board is dissatisfied with the quality of graduates from public institutions and this has prompted it to suspend nearly all engineering programmes in 22 public universities and their colleges until certain specifications are met.
The move has thrown into jeopardy the careers of thousands of students pursuing the courses.
Kenyatta University (KU), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and the Technical University of Mombasa are some of the institutions currently hiring engineering lecturers from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, India, Korea and China, university administrators told the Nation.
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There are 8,700 trained engineers in Kenya at the moment, according to the EBK. Out of this, only 2,000 have been licensed to practise.
The ministry of Education said it was in talks with the board to determine the fate of thousands of students pursuing engineering courses that have not been approved.
For engineers to practice in Kenya, they must be graduates of a university approved by the board and must have worked under a “competent” engineering firm for at least three years. They are then registered and given a certificate to practise.
REPEAT
But Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has indicated that students who have already completed their courses and are due to graduate would not be forced to repeat their degree programmes.
“We will meet with EBK to deliberate on the way forward and allow the students to graduate. We expect to reach an agreement this week,” said Prof Kaimenyi.
The recent spate of student unrest that led to the closure of some universities has been attributed to anxiety over the uncertainty surrounding the suspension of the engineering programmes.
EBK Registrar Nicholas Mulinge said the universities had not hired qualified personnel to teach engineering.
“We asked them to hire what we call ‘thematic leaders’, who are professionals with depth of both experience and qualification in specific areas to head their programmes, but they have failed,” Mr Mulinge lamented.
Vice-chancellors and the EBK would meet this week to determine the next move for KU, JKUAT, Egerton University, Technical University of Mombasa, Maseno University and all colleges offering engineering courses.
RAPID EXPANSION
Only one engineering course — Environment and Bio-Systems — at the University of Nairobi is yet to be cleared by the EBK, out of six courses that the institution offers.
“The problem started when university senates approved courses without regard to professional (regulations) because the universities were autonomous entities,” said Mr Mulinge.
However, universities lost their autonomy with the coming into force of the Universities Act (2012), which gave the Commission for University Education and professional groups such as the EBK powers to approve and accredit programmes.
Previously, the senates approved all degree courses the institutions offered after their faculties developed programmes. This is how most public universities started engineering courses even without enough lecturers or qualified ones.
“The matter has been worsened by the rapid expansion of universities, with their constituent colleges fast becoming full universities even without the necessary staff and equipment. This is what has forced EBK to weigh in in a bid to ensure professionalism,” said Mr Mulinge.
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES
The Engineers Act (2011) mandates the board to approve and accredit engineering programmes in public and private universities and other tertiary educational institutions.
Only four public universities — Nairobi, Moi, Jomo Kenyatta and Egerton — have been cleared to offer courses in engineering, even though some courses are yet to be approved.
At the UoN, only five courses, including Civil, Agricultural, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics engineering will be offered.
Moi will offer 13 engineering courses, including Electrical and Communication, Civil and Structural, Textile, Chemical and Process, and Production Engineering.
At Jomo Kenyatta, Mechanical, Agricultural, Civil, Electrical and Electronics, Mechatronic, Agricultural and Bio-Systems Engineering are approved.
Agricultural Engineering is the only course that has been approved at Egerton University.
University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor George Magoha supported the regulation on institutions by the board and said there was a need to streamline the engineering sector to meet international standards.
BEYOND BOARD DEMANDS
He said his university was working closely with the board to ensure that the Environmental and Bio-Systems Engineering course —which is yet to be approved — meets the specifics of the board.
“It is good for all universities to comply with the professional bodies’ demands if the graduates are to be employable within the country and outside our borders,” he said.
The principal at the College of Architecture and Engineering at the university, Prof Bernard Njoroge, said universities should stay ahead of the demands of the board to ensure that their training was beyond reproach.
Prof Njoroge said engineering courses had a huge implication on the safety of citizens and needed to be treated with such seriousness.
“There’s (a) need for regulation. Respectable institutions must be accredited,” Prof Njoroge said, adding that the engineering discipline was akin to medicine and needed a regulator — “this is the practice the world over.”
Prof Njoroge said the university aims to have one lecturer teaching 14 students and also to continuously purchase new equipment as demanded by the board.
In KU, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Prof John Okumu said the university was forced to seek lecturers outside the country to meet the teaching gap.
“We have put advertisements for teaching positions in the Engineering department in other countries, such as India, who have really good trained engineers,” said Prof Okumu, adding that the university was also procuring new equipment and has built a new laboratory for the students.
CRISIS
KU is offering five engineering courses, including Civil, Electrical and Electronics, Energy, Mechanical and Manufacturing, and Computing and Information Technology.
Prof Okumu noted that there were very few lecturers in the country to teach engineering, and this was one reason leading to the crisis.
He noted that the university had approached the Indian High Commission to place advertisements for senior lecturers in the sector to support the department. India, Prof Okumu argued, had a good pool of professionals trained in the area and their labour is affordable.
At JKUAT, Marine Engineering and Mining and Mineral Processing Engineering are yet to be accredited, although the principal of the College of Engineering and Technology, Prof Bernard Ikua, said they had hired senior lectures from the Netherlands, Korea and China to meet the teaching gaps.
The university is currently offering Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics, Mechatronics, Agriculture and Bio-Systems Engineering.
MAINTAINING HIGH STANDARDS
“We are placing tenders for equipment that the board has demanded although most of our programmes have been given a clean bill of health,” said Prof Ikua.
Such issues as keeping the quality of university education up to world standards was one of the reasons Prof Kaimenyi was opposed to devolving university education, questioning the ability of the county governments to maintain standards in the institutions.
“It is much more than just a matter of having land and buildings — which the counties actually have. There is the case of human resources,” Prof Kaimenyi said in reference to the Universities Act Amendment Bill (2014), which has been introduced in the Senate.
The envisaged law seeks to create a university in each of the counties to foster equity and access to higher education.
“Let the counties leave universities to the national government and the Commission for University Education for now,” Prof Kaimenyi said, and asked them to concentrate on ensuring that polytechnics and other middle-level institutions were functional in the first place.
“Universities must be set up under (the) scrutiny of CUE and professional bodies. Let us not rush for now.
-nation.co.ke
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Problems with the teaching of engineering? Last I heard, Kenya will be an industrialized country by 2030. In fact, just today His Excellency, President Uhuru, declared that it will be the region's manufacturing hub. I thought such statements had some solid basis, but here it is ... back to importing other countries' leftovers, just the way it was in the 1960s and 1970s.