Samuel Siringi
10 February 2008
Nairobi — Kenya's public universities have been thrown in one of the worst crisis ever due to the wave of violence in some parts of the country.
The universities - already struggling to adjust to disruption of academic programmes occasioned by the violence - are receiving requests from students and staff who say they fear for their safety in the face of the post-election violence.
At least four of the seven universities - Moi, Egerton, Masinde Muliro, Egerton and Maseno - have reported getting such requests.
The students and staff say they would like to be moved to institutions they consider safer.
If approved, the move could deprive the institutions their reputation as national centres of academic excellence and reduce them to mere regional colleges.
Some students from Central and Eastern province, for example, are asking that they be moved from their campuses in Moi, Maseno and Masinde Muliro universities, located in areas where members of their ethnic communities were targeted for attacks because they were perceived to have voted in a particular way.
The University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University, also in Nairobi, appear to be the most preferred by students asking for transfers from other universities.
University of Nairobi spokesman Mr Charles Sikulu confirmed there had been many transfer requests from students from other universities, but he would not state the exact number of inquiries so far.
"We are receiving the inquiries but no decisions have been made so far. We are busy with assessing our own situations with a view to ensuring things run on smoothly in our institution," he said.
Commission for Higher Education boss Prof Everett Standa said it was difficult for student transfers on a massive scale to be effected, especially among Government-sponsored students.
"Our universities run independent curricula. We are yet to come up with a system for credit transfers that can allow smooth movements, although we are currently working on one," he said in a telephone interview yesterday.
"We have agreed that each university meets to see how to move forward in the current environment. But we must not allow politics into education, which we have for many years relied on for national integration."
The commission, he said, was determined to ensure higher education in the country was modelled in such away that what he called parochial interests are not allowed to interfere.
The Sunday Nation learnt that the University of Nairobi had its own concerns of security, and that it therefore prefers to call in a few groups of students during the period of political unrest.
Mr Sikulu, however, claimed the university's academic programmes were on track despite the fact that only postgraduate students and those enrolled in medical courses are currently in session.
"We have also opened our campuses in Mombasa and Kapenguria, besides all extramural programmes. Our senate will announce dates for the resumption of students for other groups once it is satisfied that security is adequate," he said in a telephone interview.
Although the universities had initially taken a break of only two weeks during the Christmas holiday, most students have not been able to resume their studies after the post-election violence forced the universities to postpone opening dates in January.
Kenyatta, Masinde Muliro, Jomo Kenyatta, Moi and Nairobi have since started calling in students, but in piece meal.
Egerton has called in some groups of students taking science courses tomorrow.
Egerton's public relations officer Mr Ken Ramani said the senate had endorsed the opening, and that they were not anticipating any problems when the students report.
Although Moi opened last Friday, less than 100 students turned up on the first day, most of them preferring a wait-and-see attitude.
With at least 300 teaching and non-teaching staff in displacement camps in various places in the country, the university is one of the worst affected by the violence.
At least 13 houses belonging to staff were burnt for staff and five senior workers among the displaced.
The five, including the dean of students, deans of two schools and directors of two schools, are reportedly living in Nairobi currently.
It is estimated that more than half of the students in the university come from communities that were likely targets in the violence in the area.
Many students have reportedly made inquiries on how they can be assisted to transfer from the university. But the university is not open to the idea, which would also have implications on its income.
"Unless security is beefed up at the university, I see a situation where many students will either defer their programmes or withdraw from the university entirely," says one of the deans.
Our investigations showed that the university's senate - the body in charge of academic programmes - was divided over whether to reopen or not.
Whereas some members who were not affected by the violence said they needed to reopen, those from affected communities are against it, arguing that many students and staff do not feel it is safe enough to travel.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof Richard Mibey, has offered to make arrangements for staff who live in Eldoret town to be transported to and from the university in college buses.
He has also held a meeting with people belonging to the local community to try to prevail upon them to accept to live in harmony with the students and staff.
The relationship between the university and the locals has not been particularly rosy, with occasional demands that senior university officials offer key jobs to local people, instead dishing them to persons not indigenous to the area.
The nearby Cheptiret and Kesses areas have witnessed most of the violence.
It is understood the university has asked lecturers who are unwilling to resume their duties immediately to take compassionate leave.
However, some qualified people would be engaged to teach their courses in what could see some lecturers lose their jobs.
Amid the violence, the Sunday Nation also learnt that some lecturers are meanwhile seeking jobs in other countries, mainly South Africa.
At Moi, some lecturers who commute to teach in Nairobi campus would also find it difficult to do so because the roads are currently not safe.
The university and those in other affected areas are also likely to lose many privately sponsored students to other universities, especially Kenyatta and Nairobi.
Ms Edna Kerubo, a fourth-year student of Language and Literature, said she will study the peace situation in the university for some time before she can report back.
She said she had felt the impact of the post-election violence after her parents were displaced from Molo and are currently camping at a police station in the area. Also in the same camp are her brother and sister.
"I am waiting fro my colleagues to get to the university first. I am not sure the road is safe and I do not want to get in to a situation similar to the once facing my parents in Molo," said the 22-year-old, who only has a semester to complete her undergraduate degree course.
Moi university's head of communication studies Juliet Macharia confirmed she had received requests for transfer to other universities from at least five of her students.
"I have asked the students to hold on to their requests. The problem we have is political and it does not need our academic solution. I hope it will end soon to allow us back to our duties," she said.
The head of Kiswahili and other African languages at Moi university Dr Nathan Ogechi said one of his four masters degree students, who lost a house in the violence, wants to transfer from the institution.
"But we do not transfer students at departmental level so that is impossible. In any case, the student had paid full fees for First Semester, which is unlikely to be refunded as teaching had already been done," said Dr Ogechi.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
