High Court has ordered the University of Nairobi to pay a student Sh500,00 for delaying him from completing his master’s studies.
UoN will pay the student, Paul Makokha the amount as compensation for the five-year delay his supervisor, Dr. Robinson Ocharo.
According to Justice Weldon Korir, Makokha had legitimate expectations of his studies within two years as indicated in his letter of admission but took five years because of the delays caused by his lecturer.
“In my view, the mistreatment meted upon the petitioner by Dr. Ocharo with the acquiesce of the university should attract monetary compensation. Universities should not admit students if they do not have the capacity to teach and supervise the students,” said Justice Korir.
According to Makokha, he was assigned Dr. Ocharo in 2012 as his supervisor but because of the lecturer’s unavailability and lack of cooperation, he ended up graduating in December 2016.
Makokha placed before the court SMS messages showing he had sought appointments with the lecturer without success. At the time, he would travel from Kakamega to Nairobi only for the supervisor not to show up.
According to Makokha, he incurred travel expenses totaling Sh40,000.
The judge noted that the supervisor never responded to Makokha’s texts or answered his calls.
Before proceeding to court, the petitioner lodged a complaint in 2015 at the Office of the Ombudsman over unfair treatment by the university
The Ombudsman, in its decision, ruled in favor of Makokha and found that the supervisor’s conduct was unfair and unprofessional.
It also recommended the university to put measures to ensure the accountability of supervisors and regular monitoring of supervision standards. Together with the decision by the Ombudsman, the university changed Makokha’s supervisor.
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The court noted that even though the Ombudsman could “recommend compensation or other appropriate remedies against persons or bodies”, no such recommendation was made with respect to Makokha’s complaint.
In his court papers, Makokha also accused the respondents of frustrating his chances of securing employment due to the incomplete masters’ studies and tainted his resume since it now indicates that he took seven years to complete a two-year program.
