By Isaac Meso
“We are sorry we can’t take you in, we need graduates who can deliver”. This is the last statement that any graduate dreads to hear when he/she attends a job interview. Employers and the corporate world in the recent past have raised concern over the kind of graduates that are released into the job market. Their worry has been, despite these graduates having admirable academic achievements, the lack of the ability to deliver in their areas of profession. Therefore, this begs the question; whom do we blame for the existence of half-baked graduates in the job market today?
One of the major causes of this crisis is the current curriculum in our institutions of higher learning. Even in purely technical subjects like engineering, lecturers heavily dwell on the theoretical rather than the practical aspect which is vital especially in the corporate world.
“I wish we could be taught more on how to do it than be taught in theory since I still feel that I am not ready for the media world out there. I can’t even distinguish between the types of microphones because I haven’t interacted with them,” says Edwin, a finalist in the School of Information Sciences. Most courses offered usually require practical application in the field but most students end up spending the four years cramming huge chunks of notes. These students soon graduate with a lot of theory in their minds.
Another reason is the age-old practice, common with most institutions of higher learning in Kenya – studying to pass exams. This is a notion that has been passed from one generation to another. Unfortunately, its effects are manifested in the job market with the existence of half-baked graduates.
“I only study to pass my exams. Any time you find me in the library, the exams are around the corner or I am studying for a CAT,” says Eugene, a sociology student. Many students, unlike old folks, have taken studying and doing personal research as a backdrop.
Using information from the internet and plagiarizing it into their take-away assignments and term papers has become the order of the day. Students no longer study to gain knowledge but rather, to pass exams and forget whatever they had studied as soon as they leave the exam room. This has affected the performance of these students once they are absorbed into the job market.
Lastly, you will agree with me that the overstretched infrastructure especially in the public universities has negated the quality of education being offered in these institutions of higher learning. An example is Moi University where students have to carry their room chairs to class. To add salt to injury, the introduction of the double intake programme has congested universities. Students are forced to stand outside lecture halls during a class due to lack of space.
James, a B.A student questions “How do you expect me to perform when most of the time I find the class overcrowded so that I have to learn from outside?” In view this compromises the quality of education. Employees who are incompetent in their areas of study are produced.
We can play the blame game on the existence of half-baked graduates in the job market today but one fact stands out; we need to change the curriculum and education system. Moreover, we need to change our mind sets if we are to end this half-baked graduate syndrome.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
DIARY OF A CAMPUS PLAYER
By Lau Lawi
When I came to this institution, I was a good man. But the freedom I experienced moulded me into what I am today. I never wanted to be like this but I had no other way of proving that I am a campus man. I never meant to hurt anyone but in the course of being myself, I have hurt and broken many hearts. I have decided to tell my story so that others may not follow my route to self-destruction.
When I came here I didn't even have a girlfriend. I was a shy boy from the village. I later metamorphosed into an animate creature that many like calling ‘a player’. I never intended to be this way but the pressure was too much. I vividly remember when I approached a girl in our class with the intention of starting a relationship. She brushed me off with a sheepish grin and told me “Mimi na wewe . . . hahahhha! Haiwezekani, you are not of my type and class . . . nkt!”
I was distraught by the way she had turned me off. I swore to myself that I would work on my ‘type and class’ to make it to the top of each girl’s wish list. I started by borrowing money which I invested in trendy clothes and an income generating activity. I had enough coins in my pocket every time, enough to take a girl out. I sold ‘ ngumus’ and mandazi in my room. By the end of the first semester I was a force to reckon with in the business corridors of Hostel C where I was a resident.
Mostly, I invested my free time in reading stuff about women and understanding their psychology. Within no time I could guess a woman’s next move with precision. The problem is that I still had that fear in me. I started frequenting church and fellowships. In those meetings, I identified possible targets for my new “profession”.
They did not suspect me for I was always quiet and prayerful (praying to God that I hit without missing). I secretly crept to stage on Friday nights where I could make my observations on the ladies who frequented that place. I observed them from a distance and even mapped their routine. Some could come and perch themselves on high stools waiting for dudes to come and hit on them. They never paid for their own drinks because the dudes always took care of that. These ladies were my experimental specimen. It’s easier to chips funga a drunken lady than a fasting sister from church.
I identified my first target one Friday evening at one of the bars at stage. She looked mentally unstable and she was drinking with enthusiasm. She was a bit stressed. I approached her and perched myself on the next stool. I threw a smile her way and she returned it with glittering eyes. I pulled my stool closer to her and we started chatting the night away. I paid for the drinks and we left at around midnight.
She accidentally dropped her keys as we staggered along the academic highway. I picked them without her knowledge and told her that she could spend the night at my place then we would look for them the next morning. She reluctantly agreed and she made me promise that I would not make a move on her. The rest is history for I never lived up to the promise.
My next target was Lydiah, a church girl whom I had befriended in my many ‘scouting’ trips to the church. I couldn’t wait for long before making my move; lest another brother of the cloth saw what I had seen in her . . .
To be continued next week . . .
When I came to this institution, I was a good man. But the freedom I experienced moulded me into what I am today. I never wanted to be like this but I had no other way of proving that I am a campus man. I never meant to hurt anyone but in the course of being myself, I have hurt and broken many hearts. I have decided to tell my story so that others may not follow my route to self-destruction.
When I came here I didn't even have a girlfriend. I was a shy boy from the village. I later metamorphosed into an animate creature that many like calling ‘a player’. I never intended to be this way but the pressure was too much. I vividly remember when I approached a girl in our class with the intention of starting a relationship. She brushed me off with a sheepish grin and told me “Mimi na wewe . . . hahahhha! Haiwezekani, you are not of my type and class . . . nkt!”
I was distraught by the way she had turned me off. I swore to myself that I would work on my ‘type and class’ to make it to the top of each girl’s wish list. I started by borrowing money which I invested in trendy clothes and an income generating activity. I had enough coins in my pocket every time, enough to take a girl out. I sold ‘ ngumus’ and mandazi in my room. By the end of the first semester I was a force to reckon with in the business corridors of Hostel C where I was a resident.
Mostly, I invested my free time in reading stuff about women and understanding their psychology. Within no time I could guess a woman’s next move with precision. The problem is that I still had that fear in me. I started frequenting church and fellowships. In those meetings, I identified possible targets for my new “profession”.
They did not suspect me for I was always quiet and prayerful (praying to God that I hit without missing). I secretly crept to stage on Friday nights where I could make my observations on the ladies who frequented that place. I observed them from a distance and even mapped their routine. Some could come and perch themselves on high stools waiting for dudes to come and hit on them. They never paid for their own drinks because the dudes always took care of that. These ladies were my experimental specimen. It’s easier to chips funga a drunken lady than a fasting sister from church.
I identified my first target one Friday evening at one of the bars at stage. She looked mentally unstable and she was drinking with enthusiasm. She was a bit stressed. I approached her and perched myself on the next stool. I threw a smile her way and she returned it with glittering eyes. I pulled my stool closer to her and we started chatting the night away. I paid for the drinks and we left at around midnight.
She accidentally dropped her keys as we staggered along the academic highway. I picked them without her knowledge and told her that she could spend the night at my place then we would look for them the next morning. She reluctantly agreed and she made me promise that I would not make a move on her. The rest is history for I never lived up to the promise.
My next target was Lydiah, a church girl whom I had befriended in my many ‘scouting’ trips to the church. I couldn’t wait for long before making my move; lest another brother of the cloth saw what I had seen in her . . .
To be continued next week . . .
ARE WE THAT LOOSE?
By Mohammed Doyo
It is the talk on social media, from Facebook to WhatsApp not to mention blogs. Negative perceptions of Moi University students have been the order of the day. More often than not, we have been wrongfully labelled as whores, abortion lovers, HIV/AIDS victims among other demeaning terms.
On Twitter it’s even worse. Kenyans on Twitter (KOT) have continued to unleash endless mean jokes on how female students in Moi are ’generous’. Sometime back, someone posted a tweet that went on to receive endless retweets. It read ‘When a coin is thrown at a chic in Moi uni, the probability of getting head is 97%’. Read between the lines and you’ll get the ‘joke’.
Why the hullabaloo? Ten years ago, a female law student at Annex confessed to infecting over 120 students with the deadly HIV virus. Why would someone with a working brain want to generalize that almost every student is a victim of the deadly virus a whole decade later, yet every year a group leaves and another comes in? Sad.
It is unfortunate that these baseless social media rumours have found their way to real life. And consequently formation of perceptions that continue to impact negatively on the image of the students both in the outside and the corporate world. We all have heard of cases where people had to undergo HIV/AIDS test before getting employed, right?
As a student who has spent three academic years in this university, I can confidently say the actual situation on the ground is exceptionally different from the one painted in social media and other interactive avenues. In fact compared to other universities out there, we are more careful with our lives, not to forget, being less ‘generous and thirsty’ too!
For instance, how often do you see flashy cars picking up the girls in Main Campus where a large number of students are based? Visit other universities located in towns and you will see this. We all know the infamous Koinange Street, right? Again, we have read endless newspaper stories on university sex dens. How many times has Moi University featured?
However, this is not to say Moi doesn't have students who would give in to sex very easily - they are there! People infected with HIV/AIDS are there too. But let this not be confused with the idea that every other student is ‘loose’ or a victim as a section of the social media users will always want to imagine.
Meanwhile, let our heads remain high. Let’s defend our morality and reputation too. Let not these social media jibes demoralize or slow us down. Again, remind the haters that in Moi, brains open faster than legs and zips!
It is the talk on social media, from Facebook to WhatsApp not to mention blogs. Negative perceptions of Moi University students have been the order of the day. More often than not, we have been wrongfully labelled as whores, abortion lovers, HIV/AIDS victims among other demeaning terms.
On Twitter it’s even worse. Kenyans on Twitter (KOT) have continued to unleash endless mean jokes on how female students in Moi are ’generous’. Sometime back, someone posted a tweet that went on to receive endless retweets. It read ‘When a coin is thrown at a chic in Moi uni, the probability of getting head is 97%’. Read between the lines and you’ll get the ‘joke’.
Why the hullabaloo? Ten years ago, a female law student at Annex confessed to infecting over 120 students with the deadly HIV virus. Why would someone with a working brain want to generalize that almost every student is a victim of the deadly virus a whole decade later, yet every year a group leaves and another comes in? Sad.
It is unfortunate that these baseless social media rumours have found their way to real life. And consequently formation of perceptions that continue to impact negatively on the image of the students both in the outside and the corporate world. We all have heard of cases where people had to undergo HIV/AIDS test before getting employed, right?
As a student who has spent three academic years in this university, I can confidently say the actual situation on the ground is exceptionally different from the one painted in social media and other interactive avenues. In fact compared to other universities out there, we are more careful with our lives, not to forget, being less ‘generous and thirsty’ too!
For instance, how often do you see flashy cars picking up the girls in Main Campus where a large number of students are based? Visit other universities located in towns and you will see this. We all know the infamous Koinange Street, right? Again, we have read endless newspaper stories on university sex dens. How many times has Moi University featured?
However, this is not to say Moi doesn't have students who would give in to sex very easily - they are there! People infected with HIV/AIDS are there too. But let this not be confused with the idea that every other student is ‘loose’ or a victim as a section of the social media users will always want to imagine.
Meanwhile, let our heads remain high. Let’s defend our morality and reputation too. Let not these social media jibes demoralize or slow us down. Again, remind the haters that in Moi, brains open faster than legs and zips!
Monday, June 3, 2013
STUDENT INTERROGATED OVER THEFT CLAIMS
A fourth year student was this morning interrogated in the security office over theft of a laptop belonging to a post-graduate female student. The incident happened at 11 am on the second floor of the library.
The complainant left her laptop with a student seated at the adjacent table and went to the administration block to pick research questionnaires . The suspect is said to have walked over to this student and claimed to have been sent to pick the gadget on her behalf. He then left with the laptop to the library cafeteria, leaving it there after having a cup of tea.
On coming back from the administration block, the lady was shocked to find her laptop missing and immediately notified the library security officers. The guy whom the lady had left the laptop described the suspect upon which the security men acknowledged having seen a man matching the student’s description. He had acted suspiciously, going in and out of the library several times. The laptop was later recovered from the cafeteria.
The suspect claimed to be a member of the Christian Union and that he had never stolen anything before. He pleaded with the security men to forgive him as he “didn't know what came over him”. Apparently, he intended to keep the laptop safe at the cafeteria for the lady, one he did not even know.
The suspect and owner of the laptop recorded statements with the security department. The Dean of Students will decide the fate of the suspect.
Reporting by Remington Galo and Valentine Marian
The complainant left her laptop with a student seated at the adjacent table and went to the administration block to pick research questionnaires . The suspect is said to have walked over to this student and claimed to have been sent to pick the gadget on her behalf. He then left with the laptop to the library cafeteria, leaving it there after having a cup of tea.
On coming back from the administration block, the lady was shocked to find her laptop missing and immediately notified the library security officers. The guy whom the lady had left the laptop described the suspect upon which the security men acknowledged having seen a man matching the student’s description. He had acted suspiciously, going in and out of the library several times. The laptop was later recovered from the cafeteria.
The suspect claimed to be a member of the Christian Union and that he had never stolen anything before. He pleaded with the security men to forgive him as he “didn't know what came over him”. Apparently, he intended to keep the laptop safe at the cafeteria for the lady, one he did not even know.
The suspect and owner of the laptop recorded statements with the security department. The Dean of Students will decide the fate of the suspect.
Reporting by Remington Galo and Valentine Marian
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