State to scrap some university courses

The Commission for University Education (CUE) chief executive David Some. Some yesterday said students enrolled on these programmes graduate before completing the required learning hours. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

The Government will discontinue all school-based courses if universities do not reform the programme.

Commission for University Education (CUE) Chief Executive Officer David Some yesterday said students enrolled on these programmes graduate before completing the required learning hours.

He said school-based programmes offered in Kenyan universities do not meet the open, distance and e-learning standards.

"We are going to close down all these programmes because students do not complete the mandatory hours for an academic programme and this is affecting the quality of education," Prof Some said.

Teaching a course unit requires 60 hours, which translates to about 15 weeks per semester.

Of these, 45 hours should be spent in class and the remaining 15 hours used for student lecturer consultations.

This means that one course unit should be taught for about 13 weeks, with the remaining two weeks left for examinations. Nearly all universities offering education courses have school-based programmes where teachers attend classes when schools close.

Schools close for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of four weeks. This means teachers are only be available for classes for about eight weeks a year.

Prof Some told universities, both public and private, to ensure their programmes meet the set standards and that minimum number of hours per course unit is observed.

CUE chairperson Henry Thairu said the commission's audit revealed that teachers who graduate under these programmes are hired by various institutions as part-time lecturers. "If you did not qualify properly because you were not taught well, what guarantee is there that you will teach another person adequately?" Prof Thairu asked.

CUE officials were speaking yesterday during a plenary discussion on the status of higher education in the country at Kenyatta University.

Students undertaking higher qualification programmes, especially in education, will be affected if the programme is discontinued.