The quality of health-related courses offered by Mount Kenya University (MKU) is in the spotlight after the Rwandan Government stopped the institution from offering five medical courses in the country saying they did not meet set requirements.

Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, through the Higher Education Council (HEC) — the country’s tertiary education regulator — has issued a notice suspending MKU from offering undergraduate courses in nursing, pharmacy and medical laboratory sciences as well as both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public health.

“Due to not fulfilling requirements, the following academic programmes of Mount Kenya University Kigali Campus have been suspended until all the deficiencies are addressed,” HEC said in a notice dated August 28.

The regulator also moved to shut down MKU’s newly opened Rusizi Campus saying it was established “without fulfilling the due requirements.”

HEC declined to reveal the number of students affected by the ban on the five courses, whether the ban affects both new and continuing students and the time frame given to MKU to address the issues raised.

“We have got an obligation to do our regulatory duties without promoting or defaming any institution,” HEC executive director Innocent Mugisha told the Business Daily in an interview.

The disciplinary and quality assurance measures only relate to MKU’s operations in Rwanda, where HEC has powers to regulate higher education.

MKU founder and chairman Simon Gicharu promised to shed more light on the matter upon his return from a trip to India.

The MKU Kigali Campus was opened in 2010 and mainly offers courses in health education and Executive MBA programmes. It has more than 4,000 learners in three locations — Kicukiro, Camp Kigali and Town Centre — and was about to open a fourth, Rusizi, when it ran into trouble.

Rwanda has a few public tertiary institutions including the University of Rwanda, integrated polytechnics, Institute of Legal Practice and Development and three nursing schools. The nascent east African economy has 15 private universities.

Kenya’s Commission for University Education (CUE) secretary David Some declined to comment on the matter.

Business Daily