Regulator says only PhDs will lecture in varsity

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 

Graduands at a past ceremony. Lecturers with master’s degrees have been reduced to tutorial or junior research fellows. PHOTO | FILE  

In Summary

• The Commission for University Education (CUE) said the new guidelines would be adopted by all universities, including those owned by private investors, and implemented over five years.
• Lecturers with master’s degrees have been reduced to tutorial or junior research fellows.
• This brings to an end the current criteria where each university had a different formula of promoting and appointing lecturers.

By GERALD ANDAE
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Only holders of PhDs will be allowed to lecture in universities following the introduction of fresh guidelines by the universities’ regulator.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) said the new guidelines would be adopted by all universities, including those owned by private investors, and implemented over five years.

Lecturers with master’s degrees have been reduced to tutorial or junior research fellows.

“It is now a basic requirement that for one to be a lecturer he/she has to be a holder of a doctoral degree,” said Prof David Some, secretary of the Commission for University Education (CUE).

This brings to an end the current criteria where each university had a different formula of promoting and appointing lecturers.

NEW GUIDELINES

For one to be promoted to professor, they would now have at least a minimum of 60 equivalent publication points from scholarly journals, up from the current 10 points.

The publication points are based on the number of books published and level targeted such as high school or university. For example, one university book is equivalent to four points while one tertiary level book has two points.

The new guidelines also require a professor to supervise five postgraduate students with two of them at doctoral level, unlike the current system where one can become a professor without having supervised PhD students.

READ: Local graduates lack key skills for job market

The common regulation will curb the situation where lecturers have been moving to universities with lower grading points in order to earn higher titles.

“We have had cases where a lecturer would move to a university with lower grading requirements to earn titles. This has come to an end with the enforcing of the new standards,” he said.

On the other hand, associate professors will only earn the title after attaining a minimum of 48 publication points of scholarly journals and having supervised four students at postgraduate level.

Currently, one would get the title having accumulated eight publication points.

The new guidelines were approved on Monday at a stakeholders’ workshop in Nairobi. Education secretary Jacob Kaimenyi said the new criteria would create order and level the field for fair competition in local university system.