Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has warned that unless measures are taken to ensure quality in universities, "degrees will be like toilet papers."
The tough-talking CS spoke Wednesday in Naivasha, saying that the government, through the Ministry of Education, was committed to merging public universities to raise the standards.
Prof Magoha said that papers were being churned out without being reviewed by peers in the academic world.
"Everybody is teaching everything and what is going to happen is that in about 10 or 20 years, degrees will be like toilet papers; they will not mean anything. A university, as I should not be here to tell you, means you teach, you research, you create innovation. Research does not mean you go publishing your own papers, " the Education CS said.
The Education CS assured university staff that they would not be victimised as the government moves to improve standards of education in the country.
"So don't feel like the government is fighting you. We want you to help us to get to where we are going, " the CS added.
Prof Magoha has vowed to streamline the education sector in the country with the introduction of the Competence-based Curriculum (CBC).