Am sited
looking at Maasai Mara University website and a unique statement strikes my
attention ‘a world class university committed to academic excellence’ then I
notice a fade smile curling on my face, immediately it fades away and shame and
bitterness fills me. I just remembered the horrible ordeal I had to
deal with for being a student in my beloved university.
I am a 3rd
year student to be come January 2016. Currently I am in my long holiday after a
long 9 months in school, a
communications student taking bachelor of communication and public relations. I
love my school and am proud to be studying here, but my pride for this school
is only limited to my inner self and a part of it is tuning into shame and
bitterness and occasionally I feel denial for accepting I conduct my studies here.
we all have seen and read the various
articles in the standard website highlighting a research which ranked the
schools that employers will least seek to employ graduates from and the other
one ranking the universities in Kenya. In both researches our school has fared
so badly ranking the least preferred by employees or the second last best
universities in Kenya.
In our own
displeasure we have read these articles and dismissed them as baseless and
poorly conducted researches, but the question we are all afraid to ask is ‘do
they happen to tell the truth that we can’t bear to tell or accept?’
As I sit and
write this article doubt and fear cloud my whole self and a chilling shiver
crosses through my whole body. Will I be condemned for telling my part of the
story or will l be embraced and inspire other people to tell their experiences
of studying in my dearly beloved university? The words of my lecturer madam
Elizabeth give me the courage and moral support l desperately need. ‘Do your social obligation
by telling the society the painful truth, you will be heard and embraced or
condemned to being an enemy of the society.’ I hope this article will get to
the high and might sitting at the senate boardroom claiming to discuss our
welfare as students.
This is my
story:
A few days
ago l was invited to an interview with a leading NGO in the region for my
internship. I showed up early and all psyched up and to my surprise I met other
students from other universities the likes of Daystar University, University Of
Nairobi, Multi Media University…
I got into
the panel room and with all the theory that my lecturers have pumped into me I
felt some courage that I will come out as one of the best students. The panel
consisted of 5 panelists. The 1st question after introduction was,
‘as a communication student do you have any productions of your own for example
a short film?’ the question came as a shocker to me and it shook me to my core.
A short film produced in my school??? Where do l get the facilitation or the
equipment?? The second question came in more of a morale killer ‘do you have any published
articles of your own??’ published articles??? I almost screamed. No I don’t
have any because my supervising lecturer is too lazy to show up and sign my
article to forward to the publisher. The next question was, ‘do you have any
academic research on your field of study?’ 'NOO' I said because my lecturers
don’t work with the students to produce academic research as they too know we
are not equipped or trained to handle such high level matters.
Let me cut
short the whole story. With the few details you can tell the interview was a
disaster and I did not stand any chance of qualifying.
This is my
disappointment with the Vice Chancellor, the senate, the dean school of arts and
social sciences, the chairman department of language linguistics communication
and journalism all the lecturers teaching communication class, don’t you feel ashamed
of running and teaching a class you so well know they are not adequately
equipped to compete in a dynamic Kenyan job market?
How can we
say we are a world class university when we cannot provide our communication
students with the most basic learning equipment? How will we compete with the likes of
Daystar, or Nairobi University when their students are exposed to high class
media studios that can rival some of the media houses?
Doesn’t the
vice chancellor whom I accord so much respect feel any shame when she is being
driven around by a 12Milion vehicle while her communication students don’t have
a media house? How much would a media house with at least a radio station
cost?
Does the
senate not feel ashamed sitting in the boardroom and claim to discuss student
welfare and at the end of the day receiving a hefty sitting allowance while the
students don’t have a media house? Then I ask which welfare are they
discussing? Maybe it’s their welfare on how to enrich themselves.
Doesn’t the
dean school of arts and social sciences together with the chairman department
of language linguistics communication and journalism feel ashamed of running a faculty
which seems not to be adding any technical skills to the students?
Do the
lectures of communication class not feel ashamed of standing and teaching just
theory to students in a technical class? How can a lecturer claim to teach film
production and not even once are students exposed to the practical bit of
producing a film?
And to us
students we should feel ashamed for sitting in class and accepting to be taught
about TV and radio production without the practical bit of it. Can one day of
making a trip to a radio station justify learning and familiarization of
working in a media house?
It’s time to
stand up and condemn and fight the policy and working of the structures and the
system in place at Maasai Mara University. The VC cannot be driving around with
a vehicle worth 12M while there is no studio in the school. The senate cannot
be receiving a sitting allowance while there is no studio in the school and
claim to be discussing the student’s welfare.
It’s a
disgrace on our part as students to just sit and watch as the management sits
and misuses government funding. We need to be funded and facilitated by the
school to achieve success.
We should
demand to be impacted with the necessary skills and knowledge. We should demand
value for our money and for the taxes we pay. To the management of Maasai Mara
University feel ashamed for not equipping the students with the required
knowledge and skills. Scarp off that senate allowance sell the 12M vehicle to
raise funds to build a media house.
Am only
asking for peanuts from you. The revolution begins heed to the call.
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