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"speaker_name": "Mr. Koech",
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"legal_name": "David Kibet Koech",
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"content": "The second cause was the suspension of the KUSO officials. The third, and very important cause, of the second strike was that when the students were sent home, each one of them was told to pay Kshs1,000. It was the feeling of the students â and the investigations revealed so â that the first strike was actually done by not more than 5 per cent of the students. So, those who did not participate felt that they were being told to pay for something they did not participate in. Secondly, they thought that the figure was exaggerated because, it was claimed, it was only the gate that was destroyed, which would have cost the university a maximum of Kshs12 million. If each of entire university population of the university was to pay Kshs1,000, the university would have collected Kshs22 million. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, again, the second strike happened because of failure by the security personnel to respond. It is very important to note that there was disconnect between the three security providers in Kenyatta University. There is the university security. There is also a firm employed by the university to provide security. In addition, there are police officers seconded to the university to provide security. We noted with great concern that there was a serious disconnect amongst these bodies. More importantly, the Provincial Administration was also informed in time on the likelihood that the strike would take place. Surprisingly, the security personnel from that area responded after 9.00 p.m., after the destruction. As a Committee, we felt that if the external security personnel had responded on time, they would have saved the situation. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, another issue we noted is that within the same week, when the students were on suspension, the University Academic Staff Union held their general meeting, and they were able to discuss issues affecting the coming back of the students. The UASU made several suggestions to the administration of the university. On the issue of the fine, UASU felt that it was a bit high. The second one was the issue of certain campuses like Parklands, where there was nothing that took place, but whose students were told to pay. The UASU also raised the issue of examinations. The students were reporting back on 29th, and were supposed to start taking examinations on 30th. The response from the lecturers was that the students needed at least one week or so, to prepare. So, another issue that led to this strike was the fear by students to sit for the examinations, because they felt that they may not have been prepared for the same. There were also issues and allegations of doing examinations before the completion of the syllabus. There was the feeling that the semester was shortened. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is a very serious matter, which does not affect Kenyatta University alone, and which must be taken into account very urgently. Our universities are national institutions but, today, if you mention the name of a Vice-Chancellor, you can easily tell which university that Vice-Chancellor is heading. This is because we have somehow localised the management and leadership of our public universities. So, issues of nepotism and tribalism will always come up in our national universities. This is the trend that needs to be addressed. This scenario is affecting all the universities, and the new Bill on universities should be able to provide a better way of identifying Vice-Chancellors. If necessary, Vice-Chancellors need to be appointed at the national level and have them rotated on transfer, so that we finish the issue of tribalism, and eradicate the feeling that some people are advantaged in some places. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on security, again, we noted with great concern that the security personnel who were deployed to Kenyatta University were 14 Administration Police officers. Surprisingly, all of them are from one region. That cannot help in providing security to our students, if those who are providing security cannot communicate with the majority of the students. We have indicated various causes of the strikes in the Report. In our recommendations, which are very key, we propose that, as a House, we condemn situations where students who have grievances burn or destroy property. That is something which must be condemned by all Kenyans. Students must be encouraged to sit down and dialogue whenever an issue arises. University administration should also be open to students. So, dialogue should be encouraged and the destruction fully condemned by all of us. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are in a democratic state. I want to express my appreciation to the universities that have opened up to students and encouraged them to choose their own leaders. We must encourage all the students to participate democratically in elections of their leaders. We need to welcome them. As a Committee, we recommend that once student leaders are elected, they are immediately taken to a workshop for capacity building and welcome them to their new world of responsibility. We also recommend that universities stick to the semester calendars. Most students pay fees for themselves. When a semester is shortened by one week, they feel cheated. Therefore, it is important that universities cover the syllabuses within the stipulated time, and everybody is informed of such a decision. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I mentioned earlier on that we need a policy on the recruitment of Vice-Chancellors and senior officers in our public universities. In the course of our investigations, we noted with great concern that those who were suspected to have participated in the strike have actually been suspended. Some of them have been removed from the university. It is the feeling of this Committee that there was lapse in the university management, especially on handling the issue of deadlines, and on the issue of KUSA officials, given that they had just come out of an election. Therefore, there is need for the university to reinstate the staff members and students who were suspended and define a new roadmap for the university. As a Committee, we noted that deadlines are very important in life. We cannot live in a vacuum where there are no deadlines. However, let us have deadlines which can accommodate everybody. The poverty that Kenyans face has caused some students to pay fees in bits. We noted that the three weeks given to Kenyatta University students to clear their fees balances was too short. We recommend that they be given, at least, six weeks, and that this be made public through newspapers, so that even those who may be sponsoring the students can be aware of the deadline. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we further recommend that there should be a system of ensuring that no student pays more fees after the deadline because, the bone of contention at Kenyatta University was that several students had paid, but they did so outside the deadline. However, the money had already been received by the university."
}