Engineering graduates at Egerton University will be enrolled back in school following a dispute over an unaccredited engineering course.
Instead of compensating them to be taken through the units elsewhere, the varsity has allowed them to sit the eight extra units at no cost.
The three – David Okoti, Ian Nyaga and Elvin Onyango had filed a petition compelling the university to meet a certain number of demands.
Egerton University VC Isaac Kibwage said the varsity welcomes the 200 students to go through the units to save time.
Kibwage spoke during a session with the National Assembly Education Committee chaired by Busia Woman Representative Florence Mutua.
“There will be three such special semesters to mop up the over 200 students starting with the first semester of the academic year 2022/2023,” Kibwage said.
The graduates will be allowed back starting September this year for one special semester.
They had asked lawmakers to compel the administration to pay them Sh750, 000 each to allow them to upgrade to an accredited course.
Kibwage said the varsity Senate had approved the reviewed curriculum and that the course will have its name changed.
The university requested the Commission for University Education for a change of name from Science in Water and Environmental Engineering (WEEN) to Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEEN).
“The WEEN graduates will be able to undertake the remedial courses at Egerton University at no extra tuition cost, and hence it would not be necessary for them to transfer to another university,” Kibwage said.
It is expected that the students will be registered by the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) upon completion of the eight courses.
On her part, Ebk Registrar Margaret Ogai said only one engineering course has been accredited at Egerton; BSc Agricultural Engineering.
“The Board has not received a request for accreditation for the BSc WEEN offered by Egerton University and has therefore not been accredited,” Ogai said.
In 2014, students taking the course held a meeting with the university management concerning the accreditation of the programme.
There was a promise to accredit the course in early 2015.In 2018, Egerton told them it had signed an agreement with Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology to allow them to use its engineering facilities as it is accredited to offer the course but that did not happen.
They graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Water and Environmental Engineering, but could not find work as the course is not approved by the Engineers Board of Kenya.
The students later learned that they needed to be taken through eight extra units to change the course to accredited Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
