NAIROBI: Although there is the Ministry of Education, goings-on in the education sector, including public utterances by the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the docket, have pointed to the fact that the ministry is not in full charge of matters of education in the country.
As such, it was a welcome move for Prof Jacob Kaimenyi; the Cabinet Secretary for Education, to take the initiative and call a meeting with university managers to address the growing and never-ending challenge of students unrest in our campuses.
However, immediately after the meeting, the chairman of the University of Nairobi students association (Sonu) trashed it, claiming that as the subjects of discussion, students had a right to be represented, but they were not.
This year alone, students from Kenyatta university, Dedan Kimathi University, Masinde Muliro, Kibabii, Masaai Mara universities and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology(Jkuat) have rampaged, occasioning a lot of damage to property and disrupting traffic on our roads, while at it.
Some issues that lead to student riots are fairly obvious, making it hard to comprehend why authorities have failed to act to stop them. At some point in keeping pace with the large enrollment of students in secondary schools, the government had to increase the number of those admitted to universities.
The unfortunate thing is that there was no infrastructural development to accompany this. Arising from this oversight, the issue of student accommodation has remained thorny. Unilaterally raising hostel fees during these hard economic times is bound to generate unnecessary conflicts.
Tied to this, is the failure by the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) to quickly disburse loans to deserving students to allow them attend their courses in good time. This institution is either reeling under serious mismanagement or is being sabotaged by the Treasury, simply by delaying to remit requisite funds for disbursement. Arbitrary fee increases are another source of conflict. Persistent university unrests and closures seriously affect their academic calendars.
The establishment of effective channels of communication between the students and university administrations is the first step towards ensuring sobriety prevails. When it comes to student elections, university managements must not go beyond providing an enabling environment, for anything beyond that is viewed as an unwelcome encroachment on students’ rights.
On the other hand, university students are expected to act with decorum even while expressing their displeasure with some of the decisions taken by their university administrations. By the mere fact of having made it to university, they are considered intellectuals.
This is an elevated position in society that must be guarded jealously. But, while this should be the case, a few miscreants without values stoop too low and behave like common street hoodlums high on somethinh. Stoning pedestrians and motorists who have nothing to do with your grievances is an act of hooliganism that should not be associated with erudite fellows.
Militarism should not be allowed to creep into our institutions of higher of learning. We must learn to embrace dialogue as a means of solving differences. Students have to consider the pain they cause parents and guardians through unnecessary costs when paying their fee is nightmarish enough.
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