Photo: Professor Kaimenyi
Speaking at Kenyatta University, Education Secretary Professor Jacob Kaimenyi ordered universities to stop offering diploma and certificate courses. He spoke during the launch of a policy brief on “Graduate Employability in Sub Saharan” at the institution.
He insisted that such courses should be left to technical institutions. “It is sad that universities are scrambling to offer training in certificate and diploma courses yet they are supposed to be higher education institutions,” said Professor Kaimenyi.
The Cabinet Secretary then directed the Commission for University Education (CUE) stop universities from offering such courses.
“I expect CUE to play its oversight role so that these universities can focus on their mandate of providing undergraduate and post-graduate training. We should do what we are best at and allow others, such as middle-level colleges, to play their roles,” he said.
The cabinet secretary also said universities and middle-level colleges should have quality assurance departments to ensure they maintain high standards. “We all know the roles played by quality assurance departments in institutions. It would be good if all universities had such departments to ensure consistent quality.”
Prof Kaimenyi said graduates should be ready to create jobs instead of waiting for the government to employ them. “Universities should produce graduates who can create jobs in this economy, that is what we expect,” he added.
He also asked universities and technical institutions to work with the captains of industry to understand their needs, saying curriculum review should be a continuous process. “We no longer teach graduates about entrepreneurship, lobbying or proposal writing, denying them an opportunity to create jobs,” he said.
