Opening Dates for Engineering Students

SENATE YET TO MEET OVER ENGINEERING STUDENTS FATE

By Nyamweya Bw’ Omari

T

he University’s Senate is yet to sit and deliberate on the resumption of the Engineering students. The senate, headed by the university Vice Chancellor Prof. Mibey, is likely to meet in this coming week to chat the way forward.

The students were sent home after they demanded to be given an explanation over their ‘bouncing’ end of first semester exams.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a top university administrator said that School of Engineering might reopen on 9^th January, 2012 if Senate meeting takes place within this coming week. The source who is a member of the Senate said that the matter could not be discussed earlier in the Senate meetings because the absence of the School’s Dean, Prof. Wambua, who was at the time not in the country. A Dean of a School is the person who can raise an agenda that pertains to his or her school especially if the issue on the table is sensitive to the senate.

If the meeting materialises in the coming week, Engineering students might be lucky to resume their first semester with the rest of the students and sit for their exams which they were supposed to take last semester. It is not yet clear if they will sit for all the exams or they will be exempted from exams already done.

Meanwhile, the Technology Students Association (TSA) officials might now have a reason to smile after sources privy to the Disciplinary Committee disclosed to us that they might not face the Committee after all. Letters, purportedly addressed to the TSA officials over an earlier ‘demonstration’ they had had during the end of first semester exams, have not yet been submitted to them. The officials are also said not to have recorded any statements with the Chief Security Officer’s office which should have been the first step before any investigations commence.

Adding to the TSA’s relief is the fact that the Dean of Students Mr. Mureithi is not aware of any letters in reference to any disciplinary case against the TSA officials. According to the university statutes, any case against a student must pass through his office before any action being taken unless in very extreme and urgent situations.

As it is now, it will be a wait-and-see situation and the officials will just have to wait to receive any official communication from the university management.

MOI UNIVERSITY REVIEW COMMITTEE SET FOR A REFERENDUM

Elsewhere, the Moi University Constitution Review Committee (MCRC) is in the initial process of preparing for a referendum to pass or reject the reviewed MUSO Constitution. The committee, Chaired by Collins Bett, was mandated by the Dean of Students to review the Moi University Students Organisation (MUSO) Constitution which was last amended in the year 2001.

Speaking to The 3^rd Eye on phone, the Committee’s Chairperson Mr. Collins Bett, said that plans were underway to have the referendum in the end of January. He however said that the final date was to be set by the office of The Dean of Students in consultation with MCRC.

“The referendum might be held towards the end of January but the exact date will be set after we resume for second semester.” He said.

The 13 member committee finished preparing the final draft late last semester and is currently sensitizing comrades by publicizing the draft using campus media houses. The draft is available in soft copy but comrades will be able to access it in hard copy once campus re-opens on 9^th January, 2012.

Collins Bett has urged all comrades to read the draft and give their comments before the final draft is published. He has also called for cooperation from all stakeholders especially in the 25^th Students Governing Council of MUSO and the office of The Dean of Students so as to make the process a success.

The other members of the review committee include, Moses Okanga, Seth Odongo (Dikembe Disembe), Steve Macharia, Fredrick Odero, Otieno Sije, among others.