The Commission for University Education (CUE) led by chairman Chacha Nyaigoti Chacha has suspended Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) certification issued by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
The Tuesday suspension has affected students who graduated on June 21 during the university's 33rd graduation ceremony over alleged violation of the Universities Standards and Guidelines 2014.
"CUE suspends JKUAT PHDs: PHDs were awarded between 2014-2019. Audit reveals non-compliance with standards. Audit also showed supervisors overworked. 118 PHDs awarded in June started storm," read a tweet by Citizen TV.
An audit of JKUAT PHDs was sanctioned after a record 118 PhD certificates were awarded by the university. The audit revealed that the certification did not meet set standards. There are also allegations of overworking supervisors.
“All the PhD students sampled were admitted into the programme on the basis of a master’s degree but in some cases, some were admitted based on master’s degrees but without relevant academic bachelor’s degrees,” says the report.
The commission has also directed the university to audit its certifications from 2014. This affects the 31st and 32nd graduation ceremonies.
“Most students published two papers in the same issue of a journal, in some cases, as consecutive papers. Some of the journals that the students published in were non-existent,” adds the report.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has been handed the report for further directions.