Residents of Kakamega town go about their daily business. PHOTO | ISAAC WALE | NMG
What you need to know:
The Commission for University Education (CUE) recommended shutdown of the campus in August saying it is located in a noisy spot in Kakamega town’s central business district.
Lurambi MP Titus Khamala has now petitioned the National Assembly to investigate the closure with a view to reversing the decision, arguing that it is important to secure the interests of students, some of whom were left with just a semester to complete studies.
The closure notice was issued even as the Kakamega county government said it had secured 3.5 acres of land to relocate the campus some three kilometres from the CBD.
The universities regulator is on the spot for shutting down Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Kakamega campus despite ongoing efforts to relocate it to a conducive location.
The Commission for University Education (CUE) recommended shutdown of the campus in August saying it is located in a noisy spot in Kakamega town’s central business district.
Lurambi MP Titus Khamala has now petitioned the National Assembly to investigate the closure with a view to reversing the decision, arguing that it is important to secure the interests of students, some of whom were left with just a semester to complete studies.
The closure notice was issued even as the Kakamega county government said it had secured 3.5 acres of land to relocate the campus some three kilometres from the CBD.
“The university management has maintained the problem is with the CUE who recommend either improvements or shutdown of campuses,” Mr Khamala told the National Assembly committee on Education yesterday.
The facility which was opened in 2011 was located at Ambwere Fraha Building, with an enrolment of over 800 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
In a memo issued ahead of it’s the shutdown, the management of JKUAT had directed students to either opt for online classes, or relocate to other JKUAT campuses in Kitale, Kisii and Nakuru.
The closure, which came just months after Mount Kenya University also closed its campus in Kakamega, left the county with only Masinde Muliro University.
Committee chair Florence Mutua said it will be prudent to invite the CUE and JKUAT management for a meeting to get their views on the matter.
In 2018, the government closed down some 57 campuses across the country after they failed to meet accreditation requirements.
Kenyan universities have in the past decade extensively expanded their footprint of campuses, seeking to cater for an increased number of qualifying candidates and also looking to maximise their revenue streams.
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