Three former Egerton University students have petitioned the National Assembly to investigate the institution, saying it offers an engineering course not accredited by the regulator.
The three - David Okoti, Ian Nyaga and Elvin Onyango – said they graduated in 2019 with Bachelor of Science in Water and Environmental Engineering, but cannot find work as the course is not approved by the Engineers Board of Kenya.
They said they raised the matter with the university between 2014 and 2019 after discovering the course was not accredited.
The course in question was first offered in the university in 1997. However, the Star has not immediately established the whereabouts and status of certification of the former graduates.
In 2014, students taking the course held a meeting with the university management concerning accreditation of the programme.
There was a promise to be accredit the course in early 2015.
By September 2015, the petition reads, no substantial communication had been made in regard to accreditation from university management which prompted demonstrations and the students were suspended indefinitely.
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.
Because they graduated with unaccredited degrees, they are ineligible for registration as engineers and cannot be employed to offer professional services.
Section 50 of the Engineers Act states that “a person who is not registered as a professional engineer or firm shall not be entitled to submit engineering plans, surveys, drawings, schemes, proposals, reports, designs or studies to any person or authority in Kenya”.
According to the Engineering Board, they are required to take an extra eight remedial units to be certified.
The petitioners now want Egerton to be compelled to enrol for the required remedial units, at no cost, so they can upgrade their degrees to the accredited Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering.
They also want MPs to investigate why Egerton continues to offer the course despite knowing that it is not accredited.
They further seek Parliament to compel “the immediate cessation of enrolment of students to the programme; and, make any other recommendations the Committee may deem fit in addressing the plight of the petitioners.”
The Star has established that the Education Committee will meet next week to question Egerton University for offering an unaccredited course.
