CUE Asks EBK To Keep Off On ‘Bogus Degree Courses’ By Top Universities.
The university regulator has warned professional bodies to stop threatening students, noting that course accreditation issues have been settled in court.
Prof Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha, the chairperson of the Commission for University Education (CUE), described the move by professional bodies to undermine court rulings as “untenable.”
He stated that university students pursuing various courses should be allowed to study and graduate in peace.
“Let students study and after they leave universities, the bodies will make sure that the learners meet the professional requirements before registering them,” said Prof Chacha.
Professional bodies, he said, should stay out of universities, but they will always be consulted during course accreditation.
“We were given direction by courts. If any one is in doubt check with us. We must not be alarmist,” said Chacha.
According to the Universities Act, the CUE may consult with any relevant body to regulate the profession to which the academic program relates, as well as engage with professional bodies and associations to carry out university inspections on its behalf.
It also states that anyone who, without the authority of CUE, purports to license, accredit, recognize, audit, inspect, or index students or collect a fee or charge from a university or a student commits an offence punishable by a fine of not more than Sh2 million or two years in prison.
Chacha stated that CUE consults with professional bodies and will continue to do so when quality-assuring courses prior to accreditation.
He was responding to remarks attributed to the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) Chief Executive Margaret Ogai that some university courses are not accredited.
A court decision in 2020 delegated accreditation authority to the CUE.
Varsities Offering Unaccredited Courses says EBK
Mohammed Warsame, Daniel Musinga, and Fatuma Sichale of the Court of Appeal ruled that CUE is the only body mandated to regulate standards and accredit courses in consultation with individual universities.
“We find no reason to suspend the commission’s mandate in regulating and accrediting courses as provided in the Universities Act. The application filed by the professional associations has no merit and we dismiss it accordingly,” ruled the judges.
The Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, the Kenya Pharmacy and Poison Board, the Nursing Council of Kenya, the Kenya Nutritionists and Dieticians Institute, and the Public Health Officers and Technicians Council had all filed court papers.
However, this was after they challenged the Act in the High Court, claiming that it had far-reaching implications for their job as university academic program supervisors.
ALSO READ:
The associations had challenged Section 5A of the Universities (Amendment) Act 2016, which states that CUE has the sole authority to accredit, recognize, license, index, and approve any academic program offered at a university.
CUE Asks EBK To Keep Off On ‘Bogus Degree Courses’ By Top Universities.
