The Parliamentary Committee on Education has questioned the Higher Education Department on how 16,000 students in this year’s cohort were placed at Kisii University, a higher number of learners compared to those joining bigger universities in the country like the University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenyatta University (KU), and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
Appearing before MPs, Marcella Mwaka, who heads the Programme Accreditation at the Department of Higher Education, explains that Kisii University has the capacity to admit the 16,000 students, specifying that the institution has 317 academic staff, 91 lecture halls, 14 laboratories, and 3 computer labs.
The members of the committee, dissatisfied with the explanation, estimate that the allocation needs at least 1,000 members of staff, a capacity Kisii University does not have. “How can Kisii University admit 16,000 students, considering there are already existing learners in the school? And why is it receiving a large number of students compared to larger universities with the capacity to handle such a number?” posed a member of the committee.
The representative from the Higher Education Department failed to convince the MPs on the bewildering allocation, asked to deliberate with her department and return to Parliament with a comprehensive answer.
