The Education CS was the guest of honour at the University of Nairobi Graduation where it was widely expected President Uhuru Kenyatta would receive a honorary doctorate/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 2 – Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has urged universities in the country to address mismanagement of examinations saying the integrity of university exams must be safeguarded at all cost.
Speaking during the 56th graduation ceremony of the University of Nairobi, Matiang’i said cases of missing marks in universities will not be tolerated saying students have a right to have their results availed to them in the course of their study without undue delays.
“We cannot have a situation where students in the fourth year of their graduation or at the end of their programmes find that their grades are not in order, their programmes have not been accounted for and it becomes a frustration to the students and the parents,” he observed.
According to Matiang’i, cases of missing marks and delays in availing results have over the recent past become a common occurrence among institutions of higher learning, calling into question the integrity of examination processes.
Matiang’i noted that mishandling of record keeping in universities was a threat to the education sector calling for universities to have ‘a serious sense of responsibility’ in managing the programmes they run to enhance efficiency.
He wondered how some institutions would proceed to their next semesters without having released results of previous semesters. Matiang’i said the ministry was keen to address management challenges in universities to completely root out the problem.
“I have asked the Commission for University Education to organise contact discussion with Vice Chancellors to ensure that we address this problem once and for all,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary said that the ministry will soon implement the Differentiated Unit Cost (DCI) in order to ensure universities are adequately funded for the programmes that they undertake. The DCI formula is expected to provide a more clearly defined way of funding degree programmes focusing on the cost of each course independently as opposed to a general formula where allocations are made without considering the cost of running specific programmes.
“Together with the University Funding Board, we’re going to try by next financial year to implement the Differentiated Unit Cost (DCI),” he said adding that universities such as the University of Nairobi ought to get more funding for some of the programmes they offer and particularly dental and research programmes.
Matiang’i received applause from the congregation of close to 10,000 students including 57 PhD candidates, 2,477 Masters Degrees candidates and 5,177 graduating with Bachelor’s Degrees, perhaps in a show of confidence in his ability to implement the changes he promised after he successfully released results for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), 2016 yesterday, which have been touted as one of the most credible national examinations of a generation.
About The Author
