CUE submits report on Jkuat's 118 PhDs to Education ministry

What you need to know:

  • The College of Human Resource Development had the biggest number (89), 40 of which were Doctor of Philosophy (Business Administration).
  • The Ministry of Education, which received the report on Monday, will study it and make its findings and recommendations public.
  • In a statement, the CUE said it met senior staff and key staff members of the Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPS) and perused critical documents to establish if due process was followed.
  • The CUE has warned that the degrees will be revoked in cases where standards were not met.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) has finally submitted a report on the 118 doctorate degrees awarded to students of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in June.

The College of Human Resource Development had the biggest number (89), 40 of which were Doctor of Philosophy (Business Administration).

The fewest doctorates were in the fields of science and technology, areas which the university is best known for.

OUTCRY

Public outcry followed the award of the PhDs during Jkuat's 33rd graduation ceremony on June 21, the allegation being that procedures were not followed.

As a result, the CUE has said it would investigate the whole process of awarding the degrees.

The Ministry of Education, which received the report on Monday, will study it and make its findings and recommendations public.

SCRUTINY

In a statement, the CUE said it met senior staff and key staff members of the Board of Postgraduate Studies (BPS) and perused critical documents to establish if due process was followed.

“The commission’s team of inquiry visited Jkuat's campuses where most of the PhD training took place and undertook strategic engagements and site verification visits,” the statement said.

“During this process, the commission set out to establish whether standard procedures were adhered to in regard to training, research, supervision and examination processes of the said PhDs as stipulated in the Universities Act, 2012; Universities Regulations, 2014 and Universities Standards and Guidelines, 2014.”

The CUE has warned that the degrees will be revoked in cases where standards were not met.

WORKLOAD

The university based in Juja, Kiambu County, also graduated 660 master’s students, who were also supervised by some of the lecturers who checked the work of PhD students.

Doctorate and master’s students are supposed to be supervised by lecturers with doctorate degrees.

According to the CUE, an academic staff shall be assigned students to supervise theses or dissertations based on the teaching load, administrative duties, supervision experience and capacity.

“The maximum number of students an academic staff shall supervise in any given academic year shall be: master’s – 5 and doctorate – 3,” reads the regulations.