Dear George Magoha, congratulations on your recent appointment as the Cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Education. I am a student. A serious student of the university you love so much - the University of Nairobi.
As I write this letter, Prof Magoha, I would like to say that the university is currently living in past glory. We are only a respected university because someone like you was once here. We are currently being respected simply because of our past. Yes, our past. The future of the university you love so much is sooty. Magoha, your predecessor is micromanaging our university.
I read your book and watched videos of you handing over power to him, and I saw that you were convinced he was the best option. I have talked to many professors in my department. They too were convinced he was the best. He speaks good English, I must admit. But that’s it.
Prof, the university does not value knowledge these days. It is easy today to get a venue for entertainment purposes than to get one for a public lecture or debate. Lecturers do not teach and yet we students are forced to do exams that we are hardly prepared for. Sometimes, when there is a lecturers’ strike, we are forced to go full semesters without covering syllabuses.
Prof, the hostels that we sleep in were last renovated when you were here. The toilets are in bad condition. We are supposed to have running showers, which we don’t. The mattresses we sleep on, I suspect, were bought when you were last here.
The food in the mess is a mess. Some students still sleep in prefabs; hostels made of wood. But, one was burned down during demonstrations. Prof, is this a centre of academic excellence? Are students crowded in rooms in centres of academic excellence? Are they subjected to inhumane conditions like we are?
Prof, just visit and see the terrible state of this university. The university has not built new hostels since the 90s. Prof, the management decided to have weak student representation. They stage manage elections. students cannot be heard. Please come and help.
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