Teachers call for change in JAB powers

Teachers have called for a single body to manage the admission of students to public and private universities in Kenya.

They said the mandate of the Joint Admissions Board (JAB), which selects students for public universities, should be expanded and entrenched in law to coordinate all admissions.

The board should also explore ways of admitting all students who score the minimum entry mark — currently pegged at C plus — to regular programmes.

These were some of the recommendations at the ongoing Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KSSHA) annual conference in Mombasa.

“What we are advocating is for JAB to be dissolved because it is not a legal entity. It is a friendly club of public university heads,” said Mount Kenya University chairman Simon Gicharu in a keynote speech.

Students selected by JAB automatically qualify for loans offered by the Higher Education Loans Board (Helb), while those it leaves out are admitted at the discretion of individual universities under the self-sponsored programmes.

Headteachers said this was locking out many qualified students from higher education.

“Let the universities admit depending on their capacity, but we want private universities to be included in this body so that those who can’t find placement in public universities join private universities.

“We do not want qualified students to be admitted through parallel degree programmes.

“The cut-off points to join public universities come as a result of limited opportunities. If you score C plus you should be in university,” said Mr Gicharu, who is also a member of a task force seeking to reform JAB.

He said they had proposed laws to harmonise standards in all universities. A Bill has been submitted to Parliament. KSSHA chairman Cleophas Tirop seconded the plan, saying, it would improve access to higher education.

“Time has come for us to level the ground in terms of admissions so that private universities can also get the cream of the country,” Mr Tirop said, adding, the move would also give students on government scholarship smooth transfer to private institutions without losing their sponsorship.

Many bright students, Mr Tirop said, turned down admission to university because they were enrolled in unpopular courses and harmonising admissions would give them the opportunity to study at other centres.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Ms Martha Karua are scheduled to address the gathering on Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, Higher Education minister Margaret Kamar said on Wednesday that least 50 per cent of KCSE candidates who scored C plus and above this year will join university next year if ten constituent colleges are elevated to full university status.

She said only 41,000 out of a qualified 118,000 candidates, or 35 per cent, got places in both public and private universities.

The aim is now to increase that number to over 70,000, the minister said at Karatina University College, a constituent college of Moi University.