Colleges deny offering places to students with poor marks

Private universities have defended their admission criteria even after the Nation established that there were flaws in the system.

National Association of Private Universities of Kenya chairman Simon Gicharu instead said members were offering quality learning because they admitted fewer students.

However, he urged the Commission for University Education to move fast and stop students with low grades from being admitted.

"If that grade (C-) is allowed to enter into an undergraduate class, then the quality of education in the country is under threat," he said.

The Mt Kenya University chairman in defence said the institutions offered maximum individual attention to students which was a boost for the learners.

He denied that applicants with a C- and above were gaining admission to the universities, in particular Mt Kenya University.

"Only when you have a C (plain) and a diploma, will you join a university," he said, although the Nation established otherwise.

Recently, the Federation of Kenya Employers raised the alarm saying local graduates, some holding masters degrees, were not creative at work or lacked diligence.

"We are questioning the quality of education offered in our universities, most graduates we hire do not have skills in their areas of study to help them compete in the workplace," executive director Jacqueline Mugo said.

In Nairobi’s city centre for instance, university or campuses can be seen in different buildings. Admission takes a short time and students can enrol for daytime or evening classes.

FKE noted that some students were not prepared to undertake degree courses.

Ms Mugo said that students who did not make the cut for direct university admission, should undertake other preparatory academic programmes like certificates and diplomas so as to prepare them for university degrees.

"That is why we have an increasing number of graduates who cannot stand to defend their papers because they have only been pushed through a level of education that is superior to their mental faculties," said the FKE boss.

FKE, she added, supported the CUE on the minimum requirements, saying that several universities had different academic programmes that couldn’t adequately be used to measure academic qualifications as efficiently as high school grades. - Daily Nation, Tuesday February 4, 2014.