Magoha backs move to stop ‘unfit students’ from graduating

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha speaks to the Press on August 21, 2019. PHOTO | STEPHEN MUTHINI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Prof Magoha was responding to a Moi University incident where some 700 students failed to make it to the graduation list despite having met all requirements.

  • The university has been dragged to court over the matter.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has supported universities for removing names of students they “do not deem fit” from the graduation list.

Prof Magoha was responding to a Moi University incident where some 700 students failed to make it to the graduation list despite having met all requirements.

The university has been dragged to court over the matter.

The graduation is slated for next week but the students say they have tried in vain to have their names listed hence their application seeking the court’s intervention.

They want the High Court to order the institution to put their names on the graduation list.

Speaking during the official opening of the Kenya Teachers Colleges Principals Association (KTCPA) conference in Mombasa, Prof Magoha said the country seems to be too focused on providing certificates.

“For my certificate I have an A grade but it’s worth maybe a D minus.

“About Moi University, there were students who were saying their names are not on the list and I said I would not do anything. But it is not about your name being on the list.

“It’s about your trainer getting satisfied that you’ve gotten the requisite skills so that your name can go to the list,” Prof Magoha said.

The CS asked the tutors to be tell the students: “You are not ready, we cannot graduate you this year. You will benefit from further training.”

The aggrieved students were admitted to the School of Information Sciences between 2015 and 2016 and according to the varsity’s schedule of studies they ought to have graduated in December 2018. This is also the date their students’ cards expired.

Unfortunately, lecturers’ strikes at the university saw graduation pushed to August 22, 2019. Some of the students from the same class are listed to graduate but the petitioners are not.

The Kenya Union of Students Organisations said about 700 students from different disciplines confirmed that their names were missing from the lists.

Kenya Union of University Organisations chairman Fikirini Jacobs also condemned the omission of the students’ names from the list.