Ex-students sue over course row

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Engineering students of Masinde Muliro University of science and Technology in Kakamega being blocked from causing a disturbance near Bukhungu stadium by police officers during Mashujaa day celebrations. Photo/FILE 

By PAUL OGEMBA pogemba@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, March 19  2012 at  22:30

IN SUMMARY

• The graduates claim that despite successfully completing the course, the engineers board has denied them registration

The dispute over registration of engineering graduates from Masinde Muliro University has gone to court with the former students seeking orders to have them enlisted.

In the petition filed before the Constitutional Division of the High Court, the engineering graduates claim that despite successfully completing the five-year course, the Engineers Registration Board (ERB) has denied them registration.

They argued that by refusing to admit and recognise them as graduate engineers, ERB had deprived them their constitutional rights and legitimate expectations of having gainful employment.

They want an order directing ERB to register them within 21 days upon the delivery of judgment and be deemed to take effect from the dates they were awarded the degrees.

“We also want a court order for compensation from the university, ERB and the Commission for Higher Education, for the suffering, losses of opportunity, injury, prejudice, and damages arising from the violation of constitutional rights,” lawyer Katwa Kigen said.

The dispute stems from refusal by the engineers board to approve engineering degree certificates awarded by the university despite accreditation by the Commission for Higher Education.

The board’s refusal to recognise engineering courses offered at the institution has sparked several protests since 2007, the latest being October last year when more than 400 students boycotted classes to protest at the delay in registering them.

The affected courses are Electrical and Communications Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.

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The engineers board has refused to recognise the courses offered at Masinde Muliro because of what they term as flaws in the curriculum.

However, the graduates argue that prior to elevation of Masinde Muliro to a fully-fledged university, it used to operate as a satellite campus of Moi University and they inherited the engineering curriculum from Moi.

“It is therefore an act of discrimination to accept graduates from Moi University with the same curriculum and subject the petitioners to different treatment from their peers yet they have trained for the same number of years and subjected to identical examinations,” said Mr Kigen.

He submitted that the graduates had not been able to engage in any gainful employment despite their qualifications and desire to earn a living as their peers from other institutions.

Mr Kigen said that the petitioners’ only option was the court since the university, the ERB and the Commission for Higher Education had not taken any measures to address their plight from the time the first lot graduated in 2008.

Mr Justice David Majanja directed that all parties file and serve their written submissions within the next seven days.

The case will be mentioned on March 27 for further directions.