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{
    "id": 571634,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/571634/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 231,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "July 21st, 2015 SENATE DEBATES 36 Sen. Wangari",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I thank the Mover of this Bill, Sen. Halima. I am beneficiary of education myself. Some of us would not have made it to this House were it not for the chance to go to school. Sen. Halima, having conquered all the odds from Wajir County to get a university education, I know that she has the interest of the students at heart. I would like to, first of all, note that the role of the CUE has been clearly stipulated in terms of being a regulatory body in the accreditation of universities in this country. We have come a long way as a country in that we have established so many universities. In places where do not have universities, we have resident campuses in many towns in this country. One can go to Maralal, Garissa or Wajir counties today and find satellite campus of Mt. Kenya University and others. People there used to travel to Nairobi to get university education. So, we have made great strides in this sector, but we must also not lose focus in terms of admission to universities. It has come to my attention that just the other day, there was a debate going on in social media about a letter that was written by the Chairman of Students Organisation of Nairobi University (SONU). People are really complaining about even the poor grammar that has been used to address the President. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we must not lose focus on the quality and what we are supposed to do in the universities. We should have minimum requirements and adhere to them. This is because we have seen what universities can do. An area like Njoro in Nakuru County has really benefitted by having a university there. This is because we have serious research going on there. Universities are able to do research on the soil and tell how acidic it is and whether fertilizer is needed and the right breed of animals to be reared in a certain area. Therefore, the advantages of having a university in any of the counties should go a long way. In terms of regulation, it is good to incorporate the counties without losing focus on the role of the national Government as stipulated in the Fourth Schedule in terms of standardization or keeping very homogenous standards in terms of admission to universities. We must not decentralize and lose focus in terms of admission to universities. That said, the minimum entry requirements should not be compromised. In 2013, in the run up to the General Elections, many people were turned down because they were told that the degrees they hold are not from accredited universities. I have checked the CUE and found that it has tried to keep up with ICT in terms of posting on their website on the universities which are accredited in the country. However, I would want to urge that as we debate this Bill, the CUE should be more proactive to ensure that this information is available any time and not just for local universities, but even foreign ones. That way, just at the click of a button, somebody will know that the university he or she is joining in India, United Kingdom (UK) or USA is accredited or acceptable to CUE. We will then avoid a scenario of unlawful degrees as it happened with the Presbyterian University just the other day. Some students went through a four year engineering course, but then they were told that it was not recognised. That means that The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}