MP accused of operating an illegal college in city centre
An MP has been accused of illegally running a college that was deregistered in 2011 after students complained of poor quality education.
Mbooni MP Kisioi Munyao, a member of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, is the proprietor and founder of Foundation Institute of Africa (FIA) that owes the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) examination and late registration fees of Sh35 million.
OFFERING SCHOLARSHIPS
Documents show that FIA was founded in 2007 as a non-profit making institution offering needy students scholarships. The college was located in the city centre along Haile Selassie road.
The college is purportedly supported by the Kenya Youth Education Scholarship Fund, which the MP registered as a non-profit organisation.
Students who sat the exam for early childhood development education courses in 2014 are yet to receive their results because of the millions owed to Knec.
The Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority in the Ministry of Education confirmed the college has been operating illegally.
POOR QUALITY
The authority’s director-general, Mr Kipkirui Lang’at, said the institution was closed in 2011 after students pursuing business and technical courses complained about the poor quality of courses and inadequate staff.
The students also said they were forced to study courses they had not chosen. Some courses such as journalism were being offered without proper licensing.
“The then minister for Education (Prof Sam Ongeri) appointed a committee that investigated the college and recommended its closure in 2011,” said Mr Lang’at.
Mr Munyao, however, maintains FIA is registered as a non-profit organisation and that the deregistration did not mean it could not operate.
“There is nowhere it is stated that if there is an issue and you are deregistered, you cannot operate. There are mechanisms provided for in law on how we should operate,” he says.
DENIAL
The MP also denies owing Knec any money, saying it had failed to prove this.
“We don’t owe them anything and it is up to them to prove it. We have documents which we presented in court and the judgment did not give us any conditions before the release of the results,” said the MP.
In October last year, Mr Munyao filed a Motion seeking to disband Knec on the grounds that it had failed to curb cheating and other examination irregularities.
