The National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula, has directed the Education Committee, led by Tinderet Member of Parliament Julius Melly, to investigate allegations against Daystar University.
The claims include the promotion of LGBTQ content in the curriculum and accusations of forcing Muslim students to attend the chapel, which conflicts with their rights to freedom of religion.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has been instructed to appear before the committee within 14 days. Additionally, Wetangula has directed Machogu to deploy a team for a fact-finding mission at Daystar University to ascertain the accuracy of the allegations.
Nyali MP Mohammed Ali raised concerns about malpractices at Daystar University, including the alleged withholding of marks from students who choose not to attend chapel services.
“What Daystar University is doing is wrong. I want to ask the CS education to make sure they do a follow-up on this case. The only option for Daystar University is to ensure that their policies are within the constitution,” stated Ali.
In response to the questions before the house, CS Machogu mentioned that no student at the higher learning institution was denied marks for not attending religious services. He referred to a statement from the university management, explaining that students sign a code of conduct upon admission, agreeing to abide by the institution’s Christian values and commitment.
“The university has also indicated that its students are required by policy to attend at least 75% of all scheduled chapel services in any given semester. However, they have denied that the release of marks is conditional on attending the services,” Machogu said.
The Education Cabinet Secretary revealed that he has directed the State Department for Higher Education and Research to audit Daystar University’s policies and take corrective action.
MP Ali, after visiting Daystar University, asserted that Muslim students were indeed being compelled to attend the chapel. He called the university’s response “fake” and urged the Ministry of Education to be vigilant, claiming the LGBTQ agenda is subtly infiltrating school curricula.
“How does the university give out an assignment telling students to do something on LGBTQ? Mr. Speaker, there are many universities, not only Daystar University,” Ali emphasised.
