Saturday, June 29, 2013

REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO LIVE IN HOSTEL G

By Timothy Otieno

Now, it’s not good to begin a story with lamenting but it’s no secret…better call a spade a spade and not a big spoon. I was among the many ‘diasporians’ who got evacuated from our hostels at Veecam. The feeling then was that of bitter-sweet. Sweet because we thought we would transcend to Canaan after our long suffering in Egypt, bitter because we had not been moved to a place any more convenient. It was just next door to the Comfort hostels, the proverbial out of the frying pan into the fire can suffice here.

The problems with Veecam were numerous; it had no lights like all the time. The mud was maddening. Mosquitoes were our daily night house guests eating or rather, sucking on us as early as 7pm – the nerve they had! Comfort was no better! The hostels lacked electricity just as much as Veecam. I presume the move was just to temporarily blind us from the bigger problem – that we diasporians are a forgotten lot! I agree with my comrade Kinyua Njeri who wrote an article recently stating that instead of running from the problem, the administration should help us solve it. Thank God I was delivered finally to ‘Canaan’ or a place almost similar to it.

 
I’m a complete stranger to my new hostel. Save for rare minute-to-minute visits to my friends over the years, I have never been to Hostel G as a resident. The janitor there is good, same to her assistant. What perhaps she should have informed me when I arrived was that that hostel has additional requirements other than the usual bank slip, accommodation clearance form etc. 


About two days in the new residence, I received several comments from my classmates of how lately my eyes were becoming more and more red. “Tim kwani umeanza?” they would often ask. What had I started? I would ponder. The strong Christian background I had been raised in would not allow my conscience to realize they had been talking about smoking shisha, weed and those of that caliber. That was until my roommate pointed out to me that the red eyes we had been due to the smell that emanated from our hostel corridor every mid-morning and evenings. Any regular visitor to hostel G can attest to this. I say visitors because the residents seem to have gotten used to the smell. 


We walk around smiling and talking to ourselves like chipped monkeys in a national zoo, all the while we are (as they say) getting high on our own supply! Upon enlightenment on this new predicament I was facing in hostel G, which doesn’t even compare to the hell we went through while at Veecam/Comfort, I sort to sharpen my smelling skills and indeed realized that we had a unique smell emerging from our corridors. 


The strange thing is that my neighbours don’t seem to notice it at all even though their eyes appear ‘redder’ than mine. The pleasantries we exchange occasionally reveal their oblivion of the ‘foreign’ smell in the hostel. They however advise me that it’s due to the fact that I’m new to the hostel that’s why I notice such. “Ni vile we ni freshi huku, with time utazoea budah!!” one of them told me.

Of late I keep seeing the doorknob appearing smaller and smaller and even the ground I step on seems to sink every time. Perhaps I’m running crazy but I feel I need to invest in a gas mask and so should any new individual intending to reside in Hostel G. My friends, the cigarette smoke fumes combined with that stuff they call shisha or is it weed (I don’t even know) is no joke!! One goes to the bathroom and leaves it smelling of smoke! 


I think I’ll start a business of selling gas-masks at the entrance of hostel G. That’s a very good business opportunity that is not being exploited appropriately. Or rather I may start a fragrance spray business. Air fresheners and sprays could perhaps sell like hot cake around that hostel!

Friday, June 28, 2013

MOI UNIVERSITY RANKED 85TH IN AFRICA

Moi University made it to the top 100 universities in Africa - position 85th in the continent falling behind Egerton, University of Nairobi, JKUAT and Kenyatta University in the latest 2013 Top 100 Universities and Colleges in Africa done by 4ICU.org.

University of Nairobi is the top institution in Kenya at number 17 followed by Strathmore University at position 44. JKUAT emerged number 56, Kenyatta University (61), USIU (77), and Egerton (80) while Moi University sits comfortably at position 85.

South Africa scooped the first top five positions with University of Cape Town ranked number one in Africa. University of South Africa came second, University of Pretoria (Third), Universiteit Stellenbosch (Fourth) and University of the Witwatersrand (Fifth).

4icu.org (4 international colleges and universities), is an international higher education search engine and directory reviewing accredited universities and colleges and universities and colleges in the world. 4icu.org includes 11160 colleges and universities, ranked by web popularity, in 200 countries.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

VARSITY STUDENTS LOSE Sh70M IN FEES PAYMENT SCANDAL

By Gerald Andae

Adapted from Business Daily (Wednesday, June 26, 2013)

In Summary

-The 982 students of the university’s main campus in Eldoret are suspected to have fallen prey to their colleagues who colluded with accounting officers to perpetrate the fraud.

-The university insists the students are liable because they did not follow the procedure laid down for payment of fees.

Nearly 1,000 students of Moi University risk not sitting their end of semester examinations after they were swindled of more than Sh70 million in a fees payment scam.

The 982 students of the university’s main campus in Eldoret are suspected to have fallen prey to their colleagues who colluded with accounting officers to perpetrate the fraud.

So far, 189 students have appeared before the students’ disciplinary committee and an official at the finance department said another 793 students had been summoned to present their pay-in slips and receipts after their fees could not be tracked in the university accounts.

The university is insisting that the affected students pay the outstanding fees upfront before they are allowed to sit the end of semester examinations. The students have not being issued with cards for examinations that begin this week.

The Deputy Vice Chancellor (DVC) for student affairs Nathan Ogechi said one official had been suspended.
Preliminary investigations revealed that he had some accomplices among students and others who are currently undergoing disciplinary process of the university senate,” Prof Ogechi said.

The scam was unearthed by a whistleblower. The suspended official is said to have had a group of students who would approach their colleagues on the pretence that they had overpaid their fees and needed to transfer the extra amount to another student in exchange for cash.

“I was approached by one of the students who claimed to have paid his fees in excess and he wanted me to give him cash so that the extra amount on his account would be transferred to my name as my fees,” said one of the victims.

On agreeing to the deal she was taken to the accounts office where she was issued with a receipt that was apparently no different from the official one.

The student said she had paid Sh253,000 in fees through the ‘offset’ system for two years in order to avoid the inconvenience of bank queues.

The university insists the students are liable because they did not follow the procedure laid down for payment of fees.

“When students are admitted here, their admission letter clearly states that all the money meant for the institution is paid to the school account at the bank and not to an individual,” said Prof Ogechi.

gandae@ke.nationmedia.com

Monday, June 24, 2013

FEE SCAM: THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN MEETS THE EYE

By Mohammed Doyo

It has been a week of hullabaloos, senate and disciplinary meetings where over two hundred students have been appearing before these bodies to answer charges of what has been termed as ‘fraud’ by the university.


We have received several calls from the students inquiring why the press club is not commenting or writing anything about the saga. Well, as expected, senior authorities in the institution’s management had already warned us against writing anything concerning the saga but in this 21st century of accountability, transparency and free speech, students must be allowed to comment and discuss what affects them and their institution openly. The constitution is clear about this; Chapter 4 on the bill of rights, Article 33(1) on freedom of expression and Article 35(1) demystifies these fundamental rights.

For starters, a major scam where students colluded with staff in the account’s department to avoid paying fees occurred. Students, after paying a certain percent of the total fee required would liaise with ‘student dealers' who would link them to the school’s accountant who in turn would make sure the school accounts system read the student has cleared paying ALL the fee. 

it is said the students, the dealers and the accountants would then share the balance among themselves in agreed proportions. Sources privy to The 3rd Eye have revealed that the institution lost over Ksh. 10 million in the process. And as we speak, the figure might drastically rise after a fresh list of over a thousand students was released on Friday. The students in the new list have been ordered to appear before the security office as well as the account’s staff to counter check some of their receipts.The most affected schools are school of Business/Economics and School of Education.


From last week, close to 200 students have been appearing before the institution’s Student’s disciplinary committee to answer the charges; of failing to respect and adhere to the administrative rules and procedures of the university; of committing fraud against the university that led to the loss of Ksh 10,295,146/=. The above offences are said to be in breach of article 3.1.1(a), (b) (c) and 9.0(n) of the rules and regulations governing the conduct and discipline of students of the university.

The students involved in the scam might have either knowingly or unknowingly participated in the fraud. That’s notwithstanding, choices got consequences, and if the choice is wrong, legal implications are bound to follow. Sources within the administration circles say the students have been ordered to pay the fees they defrauded the institution as well as a fine of Ksh. 10,000 among other penalties.

But as the disciplinary committee decides on the punitive measures to take against the students, various questions ought to be answered.

First, what pushed such a huge number of students to participate in the fraud act? Why did the mechanisms that have been put in place to stop such fraud acts, fail? How long has this act of fraud going on considering that students who joined the institution in 2007 have been mentioned in the scam? What does the Varsity’s chief accountant know about this scam considering every year the varsity expects to collect certain amount of money from fees but the amount must have fell short of the targeted amount each year if the fraud happened? How did these fraud acts escape the audit department yet auditing is done every year? 

What is the role of the ICT department in this scam considering the accounts electronic systems were allegedly manipulated to facilitate the fraud? Apart from the accountants, did the senior administrators have a hand in this scam? Who should bear the greatest responsibility; the students who decided to join a fraud act after discovering it would sail through or the varsity senior staff who knowingly allowed the fraud to happen with intent of benefiting from it?

These are some of the questions that should be answered. But in the meantime, the whole situation should be handled with utmost sobriety considering a huge number of students are involved. And as much as the administration wants to solve this gargantuan debacle, let them consider the situation from a humanitarian angle especially now that the end semester exams are starting today. The students should be allowed to sit for their exams as the disciplinary hearings continue.

The writer of this opinion piece is the outgoing Secretary General of The 3rd Eye.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

DVC ASSURES STUDENTS ON HELB

By Boaz Onyango

The deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of student affairs, Prof. Nathan Ogechi has assured students that the university is liaising with HELB over the delay in disbursement of funds. He said students, who are HELB beneficiaries with a minimal fee balance of Ksh. 4 000 will be allowed to sit for examinations.

Speaking to a group of students on Friday afternoon in his office, Prof. Ogechi said that a team of university officials had been dispatched to Nairobi to follow up the matter.

He called on students to check with various accountants since a new list of HELB beneficiaries had been circulated to respective schools. 

When asked about students with special needs, the senior administrator advised them to personally present their case with faculty dean's office.

He also gave a clear indication of an online booking system. He said the university will adopt the system from next semester.

This is likely to change the scenes of long queues synonymous with the manual system.

Search site.