Fresh vetting awaits colleges and varsities

A fresh inspection of universities and colleges is in the offing to ensure quality programmes are offered to students.

Higher Education Minister Margaret Kamar on Thursday said the mushrooming of institutions of higher learning in the country had necessitated the move to ensure standards were not compromised.

The minister directed the Commission for Higher Education to revisit and re-inspect the quality of programmes offered in all the registered private universities, constituent colleges, middle level colleges and other tertiary institutions.

Prof Kamar said some institutions had failed to deliver quality services as promised after being registered by the commission.

“Those institutions that are already registered will undergo another inspection to ensure that the standards set during and after registration are maintained,” Prof Kamar said.

Public universities, she said, would be exempted from inspections because they had established standards recognised by both her ministry and the commission.

The steady increase in higher learning institutions should not undermine the competitiveness of Kenyan graduates globally.

The commission will conduct pre-registration and post-registration inspections to put checks and balances in the higher learning sector.

Launch service charter

Prof Kamar was speaking during the commission’s ISO certification celebrations and launch of its strategic plan and service charter at Gigiri, Nairobi. The commission was awarded the certification in Quality Management System.

Commission chairman Ezra Maritim said Kenya was faced with the challenge of higher education being commercialised at the expense of quality.

The government has established 17 public universities and seven others are awaiting legal orders to operate fully.