Are Kenyan professional bodies a barrier to education and development by accrediting institutions?

 

How do you feel when you study a degree and lets say you graduate, but then you are told that the degree is not accredited? How much money and time have you spend pursuing the course? This is the dilemma that is facing Kenyan students and some educational institutions. The affected students and graduates are asking "Is there anybody in Kenya who can help people who have been affected by these malicious decisions?"

During former President Mwai Kibaki’s regime, several constituent university colleges and were awarded charters making them fully fledged universities. Public universities have also increased from eight to 22 with the new varsities bearing the brunt of professional bodies—which issue practicing certificates.

The problem now is with the accrediting these causes. Should professional bodies be involved in determining universities that fit to offer degrees? The likes of the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBR), Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK), Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

The Commission for University Education (CUE) wants Parliament to amend the laws to ensure that it is the only body to accredit graduates, to avoid and lockout situations where professional bodies reject those from newly established public universities.

Currently, CUE has the mandate of approving the academic programmes while it is the responsibility of the professional body to accredit and approve the practice, based on fulfillment of all the requirements. This is what we call dual accreditation where CUE accredits the universities and programmes while the professional bodies accredit the practice.

The senate committee also accused CUE of failing to stamp its authority in the accreditation of institutions and ensuring that professional bodies recognise the charters.

“We are now looking at a situation where students are left in the dark for mistakes that are not of their making. You must stamp your authority and ensure that the charters are recognized,” said Mr Karaba Kirinyaga Senator.

The committee expressed fears that students are unaware that the degrees they are pursuing in a number of universities will not be recognized by their professional bodies.

These Professional bodies have disowned degrees from some Kenyan universities, making it difficult for graduates to secure employment.

ITS NOW TIME FOR STUDENTS AND GRADUATES TO TAKE ACTION BECAUSE THE ENTRUSTED INSTITUTION ARE NOT HELPING. IT IS TIME FOR A REVOLUTION. QUESTION YOUR INSTITUTION AND TAKE ACTION, this is not an incite but a demand. Do you wanna get wasted by people who are not conserned about your future? How will your family look at you? Again, TAKE ACTION!!

Here are some of the students and graduates complains:

I am one the graduates most affected by this. I undertook my study in Agricultural Engineering to completion (one of the listed accredited courses) from the University of Nairobi (1998-2003). When we were about to graduate, the name was changed to Environmental and Bio-systems Engineering and consequently this was the name/ degree awarded. ERB has since refused to recognize this degree and the university has also not assisted in any way. In fact, we have repeatedly petitioned the university to
award us the degree we studied for in vain. We have also tried to explain to ERB that the content of the degree is for the former but this has always landed
on deaf ears.

Looking at the qualifications of the EBK members, over 80% of them don't have PHDs, how
can they decide what to be taught by PROFESSORS at universities? The answer is that they cant and what they would recommend is either mediocre or a foreign copy that has no connection with local engineering concepts.

The veteran engineers at the helm EBK and IEK have no capacity to regulate newer emerging engineering disciplines since they only know of the traditional mechanical, civil, Agric, Chemical and Electrical & Electronics engineering. Instead of equipping EBK and IEK with professionals from the new engineering disciplines, such as Environmental engineering, Mechatronics and robotics engineering, aeronautical engineering, Software engineering, Computer engineering, Mining engineering, Petroleum engineering, Biosystems engineering, Geomatic engineering etc., the Board officials chose to demonize them so that they can remain relevant at the helm of EBK and IEK.

This is seriously hurting Kenya's engineering profession. One can never be a jack of all trades in engineering. When one becomes a jack of all trades he becomes a master of none. If you look at the
board's website, you will find photos of buildings and roads, and that explains why the Board is like an extension of Ministry of Roads and Infrastructure.The veteran Board officials need to understand that engineering is wider and finer than they can perceive with their subjective old school minds. It's so sad that lives of thousands of brilliant qualified graduate engineers are wasted simply by actions of a few arrogant individuals who behave as though they have monopoly of engineering knowledge in Kenya.

FOOD FOR  THOUGHT: Does the EBK think that all engineering work in Kenya is done by the less than 10,000 registered engineers? Looking at the  qualifications of the EBK members, over 80% of them don't have PHDs, how can they decide what to be taught by PROFESSORS at
universities?????????