Below is a list of all the shortlisted candidates for the Commission for University Education Chief Executive Officer (CEO) job.

1. Prof Laban Peter Ayiro-Daystar University VC
2. Prof Geoffrey Muluvi-South Eastern Kenya University
3. Prof Nathan Oyori Ogechi-DVC (Student Affairs) at Moi University
4. Prof John Okumu-DVC (Administration) Kenyatta University
5. Prof Christopher Shisanya, a Full Professor of Agroclimatology in the Department of Geography at Kenyatta University
6. Prof Emily Achieng’ Akuno- DVC (Academic Affairs) at Co-operative University of Kenya
7. Dr Dismus Bulinda
8. Prof Elizabeth Wangari Gathuhi- Registrar – Academics at Karatina University
9. Dr Everlyne Kisembe
10. Prof Mike Kuria
11. Prof Dr Benedict Mwavu Mutua
12. Prof Francis Gichuki Ndiritu
13. Prof Grace Njoroge
14. Prof Maurice Oduor Okoth
15. Gilbert Opanga- Senior Assistant Commission Secretary (Quality Audit and Standards) at CUE
16. Prof Douglas Shitanda
17.  Prof Jackson Too.

The details are contained in a communication by commission chairman Prof Chacha Nyaigotti.

Those shortlisted will be interviewed for three days starting June 28 to June 30.

The successful candidate will serve a term of five years. The candidate will replace Prof

whose term has expired having served from September 6, 2017.

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Prof. Ntarangwi succeeded Prof David Kimutai Some, who had been in charge since 2012.

The first term is however renewable for a further five years’ subject to satisfactory performance and mutual agreement.

Prof Akuno, the DVC (Academic Affairs) at Co-operative University of Kenya will be the first candidate to face the panel on June 28, followed by Prof Ayiro.

Dr Gathuthi, Registrar – Academics at Karatina University and Dr Kisembe will also be interviewed on first day.

The second day will see Prof Njoroge, Prof Kuria, Prof Ndiritu, Prof Dr Mutua and Prof Muluvi face the interview panel.

While Prof Shitanda, Prof Too, Prof Ogechi, Prof Okoth and Opanga, who is the Senior Assistant Commission Secretary (Quality Audit and Standards) at CUE, will wrap the interviews on June 30.

The position attracted 49 applicants.

Four government agencies have launched a fresh fight over which of them is authorized to recognize academic papers obtained locally or from foreign institutions. The ministry of education (MOE), the Kenya national qualifications authority (KNQA), technical and vocational training authority (TVETA) and the commission for university education (CUE) all believe they are mandated constitutionally to verify academic papers, leaving them in a competing situation.

This follows a petition filed by George Bala claiming that the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) does not have powers to approve national and foreign qualifications.

According to the petition, such powers are only vested with the Commission for University Education (CUE) and Technical and Vocational Education Training Authority (TVETA).

Justice Anthony Ndung’u , in his November 17^th orders, temporarily stopped KNQA from verifying national and foreign academic qualifications.

The judge issued orders suspending Part III of the Kenya National Qualifications Framework Regulations, which gave it the authority to recognise, equate and verify national and foreign academic qualifications.

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Justice Ndung’u said the orders will remain in force until February 2, 2022, when a suit challenging the powers of Ministry of Education and the KNQA on verification of academic qualifications will be determined.

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has now invited the Attorney General Kihara Kariuki’s office to take over the matter.

“Your office should enter appearance for all the respondents and interested parties in the matter coming up for mention on November 16, 2021,” reads Magoha’s letter to the AG.

Magoha also said: “In light of the issues raised in this petition, and as the head of the ministerial docket under which most of the pertinent regulatory bodies are domiciled, I find it imperative to ensure that a consistent position on the various issued posed is taken.”

The petitioner argues that KNQA has been illegally using provisions of the Kenya National Qualifications Framework Regulations to usurp powers vested in CUE and the other authorities mandated to vet all academic qualifications for higher institutions.

“There is nowhere in the Kenya National Qualifications Framework Act where KNQA is vested with the power by Parliament to recognise, equate or verify national and foreign academic qualifications,” Bala, through his lawyer, Deogratious Omondi.

He accused the Ministry of Education of unlawfully making changes to the Kenya National Qualifications Framework Act by introducing the regulations and giving power to KNQA to vet academic certificates when they have no such capacity.

He told the court that under Section 29 of the Kenya National Qualifications Framework Act, the Ministry of education is given powers to make regulations for verification of certificates but the power does not extend to making regulations that illegally usurp the mandates of other bodies.

“The ministry cannot make regulations that are inconsistent with the law. They purported to confer powers to KNQA and in the process violated provisions of the law which also recognises other bodies mandated to verify the certificates,” said Omondi.

According to Omondi, KNQA is only mandated to set the standards for harmonisation and recognition of national and foreign qualifications.

He stated that they were alarmed in January when KNQA, through its chief executive officer, usurped the powers of CUE and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority by announcing that it will start verifying certificates.

Omondi told the court that the move was contradictory and in violation of the law since it is only CUE and the other established agencies that have the required systems and trained personnel to verify academic certificates.

“We are in a critical time where persons seeking elective positions are seeking clearance through recognition, equation, verification and approval of local and foreign academic certificates and it is in the public interest that it is the correct institution that is allowed to do the work,” he said.

Bala in his affidavit to support the application swore that he accessed KNQA’s website in October and discovered that they were illegally charging Sh5,000 for Kenyans seeking recognition of their certificates and Sh10,000 for foreigners seeking the same services.

He claimed the charges which also include an additional Sh1,000 for locals and Sh3,000 for foreigners to verify the certificates was an overreach and usurpation of functions they do not have power to perform.

A recent report by Universities Fund revealed that most of the universities were unprepared to offer online classes.

The report revealed that those that already had online programmes did not have the capacity to handle a large number of students.

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“As universities hurriedly started to offer online classes, they were not able to put systems in place that could accommodate all students regardless of their geographical location,” states the report.

This is because most universities started offering online classes after the directive of President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 15 to shut all learning institutions.

Among the platforms used by universities to roll out online teaching include Moodle Learning Managing Systems, emails, zoom, Google classroom/meet, Microsoft Teams, Kenet systems, WhatsApp, internally developed systems, Hangouts and Big Blue Button.

The survey indicates that the systems and platforms put in place by universities only favoured students with access to electricity, the internet, smart phones and laptops, and those conversant with how the electronic gadgets work.

The critical areas that CUE wants to be improved are; examinations, assessments, students’ support, faculty and staff development, physical infrastructure and technological infrastructure.

Examinations

• Universities should describe how tests are administered for ODeL programmes
• Universities should outline the tools in use for student authentication during examinations.
• Universities should demonstrate how they ensure students adhere to examination protocols, including invigilation and checking academic dishonesty.
• Universities must ensure issues around security of examinations are in place. universities must institute mechanisms in place for ODeL examinations during setting, handling, packaging, execution and marking.
• All universities to issue A documented procedure for quality assurance of ODeL examinations to CUE for quality audit.

Assessments

• Universities should exhibit how assessments are conducted, how student assessment reports are generated, analyzed and archived.
• Universities must demonstrate how feedback on assessment is communicated to the students; and how they are integrated in review of the curriculum.
• Universities to give details of their IT infrastructure.
• Universities must also demonstrate they have set up software to detect academic dishonesty including deception, plagiarism, theft and fraud.
• There must be a system in place for archiving past examination questions and results for ease of retrieval.

The commission for university education, CUE, has released a self-assessment tool for all institutions of higher learning to safeguard quality and standards in online lessons.

Universities have been asked to ensure the credibility of online teaching programmes and security from malpractices.

CUE expressed fears that academic papers tabled by some graduates may be questioned for failing to meet standards for online teaching and examinations.

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Part of the urgent requirements for online lessons is a robust infrastructure that ensures access to learning materials, processing, storage and access to student information and also facilitates student and faculty support.

CUE now wants institutions of higher learning to check the level of compliance with the set benchmarks using their already released self assessment tool.

The document containing the details has been titled   ‘Open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) programmes and institutions in Kenya.’

CUE Chief Executive Officer Mwendwa Ntarangwi said the kit is a self-audit arrangement that must be used by universities to ensure programmes being delivered to students meet the set quality standards.

“We are keen to ensure universities provide ODeL education that is credible and available to a wide group of students who are off or on-campus,” said Ntarangwi. Upon generating self-assessment reports as per the document, the suitability of the universities to offer online courses will be evaluated.

Speaking during a meeting on State of University Education in Kenya, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha challenged university managers to come up with ways of transforming their teaching practices in response to the unprecedented corona times and anticipate the future through creative use of technology.

“It is incumbent upon universities as the leaders in knowledge creation, research undertaking and innovation to find solutions to the myriad challenges in our society,” said Magoha.

Ntarangwi said the pandemic has thrown both public and private universities into uncertain waters since each is forced to move lessons online; a development that he said has also greatly impacted the institutions financially.

In addition to managing complex universities budgets, VCs were told to also develop ability to manage reductions in staffing, programmes and space.

“The university sub-sector has had to adjust and embrace digital learning platforms to ensure continuity of teaching and learning. It is now about time to fix quality,” said mr. Chacha, the CUE chairperson.