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"id": 453396,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Wakhungu",
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"legal_name": "Chrisantus Wamalwa Wakhungu",
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"content": "Hon. Speaker, I rise to support the Bill. It is, indeed, important that in this country we have a body that can harmonize qualifications. Sometimes back, we had a university here called Newport University. That university offered degrees, Masters, PhDs and people went there very quickly to get those degrees. They were flooded in the market and were competing among those who had gone through accredited universities in the job market. Afterwards, when due diligence was done, it was realized that Newport University, which claimed to have been from the United States, was not even accredited in the country that it came from. I know that the presenter was a bit vague and he even had difficulties. He mentioned that many people have been asking him what the role of this Bill is. Indeed, I also have to mention to the Members that we no longer have a Commission for Higher Education. The current commission is called Commission for University Education. As a scholar, I am up to task when it comes to matters of academia and the issue of accreditation is very key. We have bodies like the Association of Professional Society Standards of East Africa. If such a body is in place, it can partner with some of these professional bodies for purposes of harmonization. In this country, you will meet somebody with different qualifications. For example, the academic standards in the United States and Africa or Kenya are different. If you are a university lecturer, for example, in the United States of America, you are called a professor. But here, in our local academic circles, when you say you are a professor, I stand and look at you. If you go to the University of Nairobi Senior Common Room, if you are a young teacher or lecturer, the sitting arrangement will show that a professor is on one side and the associates on the other side. So, we need to have this harmonized approach. For instance, someone is not a professor at the University of Nairobi, but he is called a professor at USIU. So, when such a body is in place, it will help us to remove the ambiguity. Maybe, what is supposed to be done is for whoever presented the Bill, hon. A.B. Duale, to go and try to bring it in a more objective manner for better understanding. But the logic behind it makes a lot of sense. When you go through the document as my other colleagues, you will be confused and you do not know what you are talking about. When it comes to the job market, and this is why this Bill is very important, you might find that people have gone for different qualifications and yet they can do the same jobs. So, if such a body is in place, it can help in terms of harmonization. For instance, in the Elections Act, they had initially mentioned that to be a governor, you must have a degree. But to be a Member of Parliament, it was watered down. I know hon. Kimunya had brought this issue on the Floor of the House and it was suspended. His Excellency The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}