The government of Kenya recently suspended the setting up of satellite campuses by public universities outside the country, a move that is meant to curb unplanned expansion. Education cabinet secretary Fred Matiang’i also suspended borrowing by public universities, saying most of them were accumulating bad debts they could not repay. Several universities have been on a spree to acquire buildings in Nairobi, which raised fears that they could be stretching beyond their means, which called for intervention from the policy makers. The move also came after the Commission for University Education in Kenya (CUE) cautioned public universities over setting up campuses in foreign countries. According to the CUE chief executive officer David Some, the campuses set up outside did not register government-sponsored students despite receiving funds from the government. While pointing out that the agency had no mandate to accredit courses offered outside Kenya, Prof. Some maintained that plans were underway to stem all illegal operations. The affected universities include Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), which has campuses in Tanzania and Rwanda offering both undergraduate and post-graduate courses, and Kenyatta University. Else where in the world, a Palestinian primary school teacher who grew up in a refugee camp and educates her students about non-violence won a $1million prize for teaching excellence, beating out 8,000 other applicants from around the world. Hanan al-Hroub, a teacher in the West Bank city of al-Bireh just outside Ramallah, was awarded the second annual Global Teacher Prize during a ceremony in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was on-hand to present the prize to al-Hroub, however her name was announced by Pope Francis in a video message after he talked about the importance of education and teachers, especially for children who grow up amid war. She told The Associated Press that she would use the million-dollar prize money to create scholarships for students who excel in order to encourage them to choose careers in teaching.
