Commission for University Education (CUE) is a toothless watchdog responsible for the deteriorating state of Kenya’s higher education sector, lawmakers claimed yesterday.

CUE had failed to regulate the proliferation of unaccredited universities, delayed programme accreditations, poor honorary degree standards, and inadequate lecturer-student ratios, members of the Education Committee asserted.

Committee chairperson and Tinderet MP Julius Melly faulted CUE’s outdated information-gathering methods.

“You mean you need to go and write … letters at this level? We cannot agree to that. There is a question of enforcement here – a commission with regulatory powers has no biting powers.”

Dick Maungu (Luanda) questioned why public universities continue running unaccredited programmes 13 years after CUE’s formation.

“We always have issues with the commission. Questions are not competently responded to … We have a lot of problems in higher education and you are the ‘guardian angels’ of the sector. CUE seems to lack teeth to bite,” he said.

Reactive posture

He raised concerns about faculty-student ratios, citing Kisii University, which he said had “1,000 students doing master’s and PhD degrees and very few professors.”

Phyllis Bartoo (Moiben) wondered why CUE reacts to problems after they emerge instead of preventing them: “Is it that you do not have sufficient surveillance? You seem to react after a challenge has happened.”

Christine Ombaka (Siaya) questioned whether the commission effectively monitors teacher-student ratios to ensure quality education.

In response, CUE chairperson Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha defended his agency, stating they sometimes need to verify information from universities through written communication.

“We are up to the task. We have never failed this country. The data is available but not packaged and we are pleading for time to package. Universities are in good hands but we have challenges emanating from the economy,” he said.

He added: “Sometimes, MPs complicate our work when they go around demanding [that] universities [be set up] within their localities.”

Chacha explained that CUE has implemented measures to ensure only accredited universities operate in the country.

“Following the enactment of the Universities Act Cap 210 and its operationalisation on December 14, 2012, programmes approved by the senates of public universities were deemed to have been accredited by the commission, he said.

Regarding documentation errors where some programmes were omitted from accreditation reports, CUE chief executive Mike Kuria noted that the agency and affected universities were working to resolve these issues.

He added that CUE had issued public notices warning institutions conducting graduation ceremonies without proper accreditation.

“Anyone found to have graduated from such universities cannot have their purported degrees recognised. Their only recourse is to pursue the illegal institutions using the justice system,” Kuria said.

He also highlighted that student enrolment had increased from 240,551 in 2012 to 606,488 in 2024 – a 152 percent growth attributed to government policies expanding access to qualified students.