The reforms promised by Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i regarding the improvement of university education standards are set to begin with the cancellation of thousands of degree certificates that have been irregularly awarded by various universities in Kenya.
The Council for University Education (CUE) has announced that the only degrees that will be recognised are from candidates who scored C+ and above in the KCSE examinations.
The only alternative for those who fail to score a C+ is to obtain a three-year diploma from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
This reality is set to affect thousands of graduates who managed to do their undergraduate and masters’ degrees after obtaining short-stint diplomas that are offered by private universities in Kenya.
Some of the private institutions have been offering irregular degree programmes to students by allowing bridging courses for students who scored less than a C+.
CUE’s Commission Secretary Prof David Some has clarified that there is no bridging that would allow a candidate who scores less than the set overall grade to join a Kenyan university.
“If you have a C+ and you wish to score a course that requires a certain grade in Mathematics which you did not attain, you can bridge Mathematics, but to enter the degree you must meet the two conditions,” Prof. Some clarified.
He added that anyone who was admitted without meeting the two conditions is deemed to be unqualified and their degrees cannot be recognised.
This reality is likely to adversely affect politicians who have been acquiring degrees with the sole purpose of qualifying to run for the Presidential and the gubernatorial positions where a degree is required.
