• Magoha said that his ministry was concerned about the many deaths that have been reported among university students in the country.
• The CS made the remarks in a speech read on his behalf by senior ministry official Johnson Nanjakululu during the Technical University of Kenya graduation on Friday.
Institutions of higher learning need to scale up counselling services for students to tame the tide of deaths of university students, Education CS George Magoha has said.
Magoha said that his ministry was concerned about the many deaths of university students reported across the country.
The CS made the remarks in a speech read on his behalf by senior ministry official Johnson Nanjakululu during the Technical University of Kenya graduation on Friday.
Magoha appealed to students to seek solutions to their personal challenges instead of taking their own lives or engaging in criminal activities.
“The country doesn’t benefit anything from a student’s death. Families and the taxpayers have heavily invested in you. Do not disappoint them with your premature death,” Magoha said.
The CS hailed the TU-K for resisting, despite its central location, the temptation to offer money-minting degree courses that could attract hordes of students.
“I am pleased to note that TU-K has remained steadfast and is still offering opportunities to diploma holders to upgrade their skills in critical areas required for the country’s economic growth. I urge the University to stick to this mandate and ensure it remains faithful and true to its name - technical.” Magoha said.
Pro-chancellor, Dr Halima Saado called on the graduands to uphold the highest standards of integrity to succeed in life.
“If you abide by the law, nobody will bother with you. But the moment you go out there and start looking for trouble, be sure to get one – a big one for that matter,” Saado said.
Avoid bad company and do not cut corners thinking you can make it quick in life that way, Saado said.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Francis Aduol challenged the graduands to be active and keep themselves busy even as they continue looking for the dream jobs they have been prepared for.
“If you stay unemployed for so long and you don’t do anything about it and keep depending on your parents, no employer will take you seriously. Don’t be idle. Just do anything legitimate to earn a living. You can even volunteer and give back to society,” Aduol said.
More than 2,000 graduands were conferred with bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees.