Nairobi — The Milimani High Court has directed Egerton University to cover and facilitate remedial classes for engineering graduates who undertook unaccredited engineering courses.
This comes after engineering graduates from the university were denied a chance to register with the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) following allegations that the university offered unaccredited engineering courses between 2014 and 2019.
The court has further stressed that the remedial classes should be in line with recommendations from the Engineers Board of Kenya.
Egerton is expected to deliver the remedial classes to the impacted students in the next three months.
"The gravamen of the petition is the allegation that the 1st respondent offered unaccredited engineering courses to its students who upon graduation, the Engineers Board of Kenya (3rd Respondent), refused to register as graduate engineers thereby denying them a chance of ever becoming engineers," judge Lawrence Mugambi stated in the ruling, which was delivered virtually on Monday.
"An order compelling the 1st Respondent to facilitate the Petitioners and all the affected students to undertake remedial courses recommended by the 3rd Respondent. The cost shall be fully covered by the 1st Respondent and the same should be within the next three (3) months or where applicable over such a period as may be individually agreed between each of the affected students and the 1st Respondent," he stated in the ruling.
Furthermore, the High Court has stated that the Commission of University Education will henceforth halt approving or accrediting engineering courses in universities in Kenya without the concurrence of the EBK.
Egerton has been urged to team up with the EBK and the Commission of University Education to regulate the engineering courses to begin registration requirements to "avoid the recurrence of the present standoff."
It has, however, stressed that it will not "issue a declaratory order stopping the University (1st Respondent) from offering on-going impugned courses (if any)."