its wrong to say we are a world class university

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 3^rd 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 1^st 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.