Ruto outlaws papers from 600 colleges

Students with certificates from unregistered colleges risk unemployment.

Higher Education minister William Ruto issued the warning on Wednesday when he nullified certificates from more than 600 private colleges.

He said unregistered colleges would be shut down. “We shall not recognise any certificates issued by illegal colleges,” he said at Kenyatta University.

Going to waste

The announcement is set to affect more than 80,000 students, with millions of shillings spent by parents going to waste.

Mr Ruto said the ministry would publish a list of government-approved colleges.

Illegal colleges, he said, had inadequate infrastructure, their curriculum content was poor and lecturers did not have the requisite qualifications.

“The colleges do not have skilled personnel, laboratories and reading facilities. We want to see graduates with the knowledge, skills and expertise to transform the country.”

The move is likely to heighten unemployment in the country. The latest population census shows that about six million Kenyans have no jobs.

Mr Ruto said the government was committed to expanding access to higher education, with public universities now admitting 16,000 students annually.

He also said the ministry was reviewing the two-year wait that students had to undergo before joining public universities.