Time to fix social issues in varsity education

Institutions of higher learning in the country have been making headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. A day ago, two University of Nairobi students died in separate incidents in what could be tied to substance abuse after nights of wild partying.

Fatal fights have been reported in campuses and investigations have mostly pointed to substance abuse and love triangles.

There are reports of female university students working as strippers in night clubs and indulging in immorality for a living. Some male students are also on record for dabbling in crime to raise money to maintain certain lifestyles.

Such cases, seemingly on the upswing, should worry not just parents who sacrifice a lot to give their children an education to match the demands of a society that places very high premiums on it, but everybody who attaches value to morals and societal norms.

Institutions of higher learning are no longer citadels of knowledge, no; they lost that claim long ago, and something needs to be done.

Perhaps some of the things to blame include the high cost of education that puts unreasonable demands on, mainly, students from humble backgrounds and peer pressure.

An education curriculum that allows students get into university at a very young age calls for a rethink. Universities no longer exert control over their students who, most times, are outside lecture halls engaged in other activities. This should change.