Members of Parliament have begun a probe of the student placement process to universities in Kenya, starting with Kisii University due to the high number of students placed in what seems to be a small institution considering available infrastructure and academic staff.
Kisii University’s Enrollment Anomaly
The university was assigned 16,000 students in the new admission list for class 2022-2023. This is by far high than other universities of Kisii’s Capacity.
Appearing before the National Assembly Education Committee led by Tinderet MP Julius Melly, officials from the Commission on University Education could not respond to questions raised by the MPs. Marcela Mwaka, in charge of the commission’s accreditation program, said the huge number of placements were due to the fact that Kisii University had 82 accredited degree programs, making it the third-largest university in terms of accredited programs.
Concerns Raised by Legislators
The varsity has been allocated an intake of 16,000 students, a number that requires almost 1,000 lecturers to be in line with academics standards, however, the institution has 317 academic staff, which is too little for the gigantic student population.
MP Melly put to task the CUE over considering the accredited programmes before and after receiving teaching staff and structures put in place. “Are you asleep or abetting inefficiency?We will take this matter conclusively. You are abetting inefficiency in our universities. If you can allow a university to have 16,000 cohorts yet you have 317 staff, you are abusing Kenyans,” he said.
Kasipul Kapondo MP Eve Obara sought clarification on the large allocation to Kisii University yet other established institutions like the University of Nairobi have more accredited programs. “Can they confirm which is the largest university in Kenya? I have seen the capacities given here and am seeing in your record Kisii University appearing to be largest. Is that factual?” she asked.
Kibra MP Peter Orero questioned the fairness of the allocation saying it was favoring Kisii University. “You want to tell us that Kisii University is the biggest university in terms of lecturers and other facilities. That it doubles Nairobi University?” Orero asked.
Response from the Commission on University Education
Accreditation reports, however, are said to have supported Kisii’s “capacity” to manage the high population. The CUEA defended its methodology despite the criticism, arguing that the university “just” had the minimum requirements for student accommodation, and learning facilities and other resources sufficed.
The CUE maintained that the Kenya University Central Placement Services (KUCCPS) is the body in charge of validating the placement numbers. Daniel Muganda, Chair Vice Chancellors reiterated that the KUCCPS should physically assess the declared capacities. “It’s the mandate of KUCCPS to validate the numbers we have given them. Sometimes it requires them to come physically to check the capacity we have declared. Again, in the accreditation of programs, they ascertain whether we have necessary facilities,” he added.
Legislative Concerns
However, the legislators were not satisfied with the explanations given, insisting this is likely to impact the quality of education. They queried the workload of a lecturer and the number of students that every lecturer is supposed to take. “What’s the workload of every lecturer? How many students or courses is one lecturer supposed to teach?” quizzed Obara.
The ongoing investigation shall ensure that MPs are placed in the right universities and that the institutions can fully be able to undertake education with quality.