Kmtc standoff with KUCCPS.
KMTC turns away 2,305 picked by State agency, admits 4,860 students through its initiative.
By Rawlings OTIENO.
Updated Wednesday, July 29th 2015.
NAIROBI: Parents and students are in anguish over parallel admissions by State agencies tussling for the control of public
institutions that train health workers.
The Kenya University and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) has admitted 2,305 students to the 42 Kenya Medical
Training Colleges (KMTC) across the country.
But KMTC management, backed by the Ministry of Health, has rejected the admissions arguing KUCCPS has no mandate to enroll students in its institutions.
KMTC has already admitted 4,860 students through its own advertisement and they are scheduled to report in September this year.
Caught in the standoff are the 2,300 students who are at a loss as to why they are being tossed around by government institutions and yet they are supposed to join the colleges in September.
The students, who had applied online through KUCCPS, were shortlisted and their names and index numbers published in the dailies, have been making trips to KMTC to pick their letters only to be turned away.
Among them is Alex Munene, 18, who applied to be admitted to KMTC through KUCCPS to study a diploma course in orthopedics. Tuesday, when he went to pick his letter of admission at KMTC headquarters in Nairobi, his name was not on the list.
KMTC Board Chairman Philip Kaloki insisted that the institution has the mandate under the KMTC Act to admit its own students and does not require the services of KUCCPS.
Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said KMTC had the mandate to recruit and train nurses and other health professionals and hence only its management could admit students to its colleges.
“We have written to KUCCPS and shall not have any compromise in that. It’s KMTC that has the mandate under the Act which is still very intact and has not been repealed,” Mr Macharia said.
KUCCPS Chief Executive Officer John Muraguri admitted that there was a standoff between the two government institutions.
Mr Muraguri said KMTC wanted to cling to its mandate given explicitly under the Universities Act of 2012 that formed KUCCPS.
Muraguri said that despite KUCCPS being a semi-autonomous government agency under the Ministry of Education, the law allowed it to place government sponsored students in institutions of higher learning including KMTC.
“I don’t really know why they are clinging on to the admission of students. KUCCPS has also recruited for Kenya Water Institute and other institutions outside the ministry of Education,” said Muraguri.
Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi’s and his PS Belio Kipsang did not respond to our inquiries. KUCCPS maintained that it had the responsibility to admit students to universities and tertiary training institutions. But according to Mr Kaloki, the issue of who is to admit students at KMTC was concluded last year after KUCCPS created confusion.
Parliamentary Health Committee Chair Rachel Nyamai said as far as her committee was concerned, KUCCPS was warned not to interfere with the admission of KMTC students and that the latter was to be allowed to recruit.
“We met as committee and agreed that KUCCPS will not interfere with KMTC over admissions,” said Ms Nyamai.
According to the Universities Act, Section 56 (1), the functions of the Board shall be to co-ordinate the placement of Government-
sponsored students to universities and colleges as well as to develop career guidance programmes for the benefit of students.
Muraguri explained that KUCCPS has clear criteria for selecting students to join Government institutions based on merit, affirmative action which includes gender, minority groups and persons with disabilities. Muraguri explained that once they have received the application from students wishing to train at KMTC, they shortlist and forwards the list containing names, index numbers and the courses which they have been selected for.
It is then the responsibility of the KMTC to write formal letters to the students, placing them at various campuses spread across the country.
Analysis : Let’s go with Mr. Muraguri the CEO KUCCPS, he’s the one who placed the Government sponsored students to KMTC.
ABDALLAHJEI. 