The Commission for University Education has been given exclusive
mandate to accredit and inspect degree courses in a new law awaiting
presidential assent.
This effectively locks out professional bodies unless working under the commission.
Parliament passed a Bill placing the commission above the professional boards.
Part
of those functions will be to accredit and regularly inspect
universities to ensure they comply with standards and guidelines set by
the commission and the commission shall be the only body with the power
to do so.
This means decisions on degree courses taken
by the professional boards, such as the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK)
that has questioned degrees approved by the commission can be challenged
in this new order.
The amendments were moved by
vice-chairperson of the departmental committee on Education, Research
and Technology Julius Melly (Tinderet MP) last week.
The
decision is expected to reduce anxiety among students in universities
pursuing degree programmes approved by the commission but questioned by
professional boards.
A case in point is the
engineering board that is embroiled in a tussle with the universities
stating that the students will have to repeat certain courses under
engineering programmes to meet standards.
At this
stage, questions remain as to whether the concerns raised by the boards
shall be addressed using the new arrangement. This includes the number
of lecturers, equipment and outmoded curriculum.
ARE CRITICAL
EBK
registrar Nicholas Mulinge said there should have been adequate
consultations with all professional boards before the amendments were
taken to Parliament.
The boards are critical because the worldwide practice is that
any person to be registered in any profession must undergo either
pupilage or internship while working in industry under a registered
professional for a stipulated period.
The commission
can, however, delegate its functions to any suitably qualified bodies,
suggesting that the boards can work under the commission.
Such
boards include the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Medical Practitioners
and Dentistry Board, Nursing Council, Veterinary Board and the Council
for Legal Education.
Others are the Kenya Medical
Laboratory and Technicians Board and the Clinical Officers Association,
which have been asserting their regulatory authority in the higher
education sector.
Boards charge more to accredit
universities than the commission. They ask for between Sh300,000 and
Sh484,000 to evaluate a degree course.
In comparison, CUE charges a standard fee of Sh150,000 for evaluating a degree course of study.
The
Director of the Council for Legal Education, Prof Wanyama
Kulundu-Bitonye, said professional boards are critical for quality
assurance in higher education.
In an earlier
interview, Prof Kulundu-Bitonye said that although the line between the
commission and professional bodies’ regulation framework is very thin,
degrees have to be endorsed by the latter.
“Our role is additional to what the commission does. Institutions must seek our accreditation,” he said.
Prof
Kulundu-Bitonye suggested that Kenya could emulate South Africa, where
all professional bodies and associations are housed by the accrediting
agency of the government.
This way, he said, the
evaluation is reduced to only one body, but assisted by representatives
of the professional associations.
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