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.

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

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.

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.