Parliament in Session
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If the proposals put forth by Embakasi Central lawmaker Benjamin Gathiru are approved by Parliament, the inclusion of basic diploma and certificate courses in university academic programmes will be eliminated.
Gathiru's proposal centres around a fundamental reshuffling of priorities, mirroring the sentiments expressed by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms (PWPER) in their report. Emphasizing the importance of degree and postgraduate programs, the bill seeks to redirect universities towards their primary purpose of advanced education and scholarly exploration. The primary motivation behind this suggested transformation is the pursuit of excellence and uniformity.
By consolidating certificate and diploma courses within technical and vocational colleges, the bill seeks to streamline accreditation processes and enhance the academic rigour of these programs. Also, this strategic realignment is envisioned to address the perennial issue of low enrollment in technical institutions despite significant government investment. A transformative change is on the horizon for the field of education should Gathiru's proposed legislation gain approval. If the legislative proposal is implemented, universities will cease accepting new students for diploma and certificate programs.
However, those currently enrolled in these courses will be permitted to finish their studies, as the restrictions will solely apply to new admissions. Raphael Munavu's PWPER report highlights the negative consequences of universities expanding into the territory that has traditionally been occupied by colleges. It states that when universities offer similar programs, they unintentionally attract students away from technical institutions, causing a continuous cycle of underutilization and inefficiency.
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Any education that does not take into consideration the inseparable unity between the African lineage and African thinking is based on false principles and must lead to the alienation of the individual from his own self, his principles and his past.
Africans no longer need dead end education.
Kenya should first ask and define the purpose of education.
Why do we need higher education?
What is the end result. Is it holding useless poverty degrees.
Let us first make use of the degrees we already have in the country.
Let us take the inventory of degrees in each village and find out how those degrees have benefitted their families and their communities.
The real stake holders of education are the parents and children not book makers.
They are the ones who pay the school fees.
Let us ask the parents what kind of education they want their children to have.
May be Kenya needs those Certificates and Diplomas more than degrees.
That is the research that is needed first.
Each community should decide what is lacking and educate its own.
New times call for new ways.
Last I heard there were more than 5000 unemployed doctors in Kenya. If such professionals are finding it hard to find jobs, how about that person who studied arts?
Do these leaders just wake up from their long-sleep dreams(they don't work hard) and propose any nonsense they dreamed about? The Western education that they highly want us to copy is not done the way they are proposing. Go to any university in the US and you will see everything from certificates, non-credit courses, etc., besides degree programs. Everyone must not earn a degree at the same time.Some people want to just get certified in a certain area, or just earn that certificate at some point of their lives. They may come back later to earn a degree, or they already have one. Education should be left to run its course, whether at the degree level, diploma , or certificate.
Bure kabisa!
Ujinga tu. Bado ukoloni inasumbua watu. Do this people knows that education in many developed countries is accessible to anyone who wants to pursue higher education?