
Sossion Explain How Matiang’i ‘Ruined’ University Transition
Wilson Sossion, the former Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), has recently expressed his concern over the current state of the country’s university infrastructure.
Sossion blames the policies introduced by former Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, who led the education docket in 2016, for the current difficulties faced by students in transitioning to university.
According to Sossion, these policies disrupted the education sector and led to a decrease in the number of students who qualified for university enrolment in 2016, which dropped from 265,000 in 2015 to 88,000.
“Our education system is in the red because of the policies in former President Uhuru’s administration particularly when Fred Matiang’i messed up the moderation of KCSE exams to facilitate transitions to universities in 2016,” he said.
Sossion asserts that the policies were not well thought out and that the moderation of KCSE exams by Matiang’i played a significant role in the ongoing challenges in the education sector.
He points out that the policies of the past administration, particularly those implemented by Matiang’i, have led to a number of universities facing cash crises. Sossion believes that the Kenya Kwanza government is trying to address these issues.
Days before Sossion’s remarks, Trade and Investment CS Moses Kuria expressed the need for privatising universities in order to save them from financial turmoil.
Kuria stated that he has been speaking to international investors who are ready to partner with universities in privatising some of them.
According to Kuria, the university system has been tested to the limit and is now getting out of control, and privatisation is one of the two options available to the country.
However, the Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) national vice chairperson Cyprian Ombati disagrees with Kuria’s views. Ombati believes that privatising universities will make higher education unattainable for Kenyans from humble backgrounds.
He states that UASU opposes privatisation as it will make education inaccessible to the majority of Kenyans who are poor, and that the union will not stand by and watch public universities being privatised, as it will kill the education system in the country.
In conclusion, the recent debate over the future of universities in Kenya highlights the need for a comprehensive and well-thought-out solution to address the challenges faced by the education sector.
The current state of the university infrastructure, as described by Sossion, and the financial difficulties faced by universities, as expressed by Kuria, require a solution that takes into account the needs of all stakeholders, including students, universities, and the government.
Sossion Explain How Matiang’i ‘Ruined’ University Transition