Drama as Kenya orders law graduates to return to high school to better grades

It’s been a concern for some time that Kenyan universities and institutions of higher learning were admitting ineligible students, certifying them even when they had not met minimum requirements for the programs, while some of the institutions themselves run unaccredited programs.

The Kenya School of Law (KSL) ordered 21 law graduates to go back to secondary school before they could be admitted to take the bar exam in Kenya.

The graduates were found to have not met the qualifications required by KSL for those seeking to become advocates of Kenya’s High Court.

The Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) found that the students had also not met the minimum qualifications for studying law according to the country’s standards.

With the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), the scholars were required to have attained three principals of C in their final exams to qualify for a law degree program, however, KNQA established that some of the students were enrolled to law degree programs with only one principal C.

With only one principal C grade, Director General Juma Mukhwana noted the affected students ought to have only been enrolled for a diploma course before advancing.

The Daily Nation on Tuesday, March 3, informed the affected people were from Kenya with at least one hailing from Uganda.

The KSL, finding the grades to be unsatisfactory declined to admit the graduates in the year 2019 unless they could attach their A level certificates and a secondary school qualification clearance letter from the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA).

The 21 university graduates must now head back to secondary school to attain a prerequisite qualification before joining the only bar school in Kenya.

The affected were fresh graduates looking to join the Kenya School of Law (KSL) on Feb 3, 2020 after successfully completing their Bachelor of Laws (LLB).

Seven of the students moved to court to challenge the decision but the ruling was rendered in favor of KSL and reinforced its position that the students provide the necessary documentation.

According to KNQA Director-General Juma Mukhwana, some of the students were meant to start their studies at the diploma level as they had not met the necessary requirements to join a university.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) has come under criticism for failing to carry out its mandate in ensuring sanity in the sector, especially from former Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Okengo Matiang’i.

“The net effect of the poor state of the university sector is a reflection of, to say the least, the ineffectiveness of your commission (CUE) to carry out its mandate, as the sole legal body charged with the responsibility of ensuring quality in university education,” he added.