RP-School of Humanities & Social Sciences

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Browsing RP-School of Humanities & Social Sciences by Author "Akaranga, Stephen Ifedha"

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    The Phenomenon of Examination Malpractice: An Example of Nairobi and Kenyatta Universities
    (International Knowledge Sharing Platform, 2013) Akaranga, Stephen Ifedha; Ongong, Jude Julius
    This paper focuses on examination malpractices in educational institutions with particular reference to two public universities in Kenya. To facilitate this discussion we posed the following questions: What is an examination malpractice? What is its cause? Does examination malpractice contribute to educational goals or development? Are students aware of the repercussions of examination irregularity? And finally, what are institutions of higher learning doing to curb this reprehensible behaviour? To answer these questions, we administered questionnaires and conducted interviews on staff and students from the two Public Universities. The research revealed that some of the prevalent forms of examination irregularities include: candidates colluding with invigilators and examiners; impersonation, writing synoptic notes. Since these are ethical questions, we based our investigation on Thomas Hobbes’ theory of State of Nature and noted that these forms of examination malpractice are also common phenomena in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in other parts of the world. There is therefore need for institutions and governments to enforce remedies against the menace in learning institutions.
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    Work Ethics for Lecturers: An Example of Nairobi and Kenyatta Universities
    (Center for Enhancing Knowledge, UK, 2013) Ongong’a, Jude Julius; Akaranga, Stephen Ifedha
    Universities as institutions of higher learning have organizational vision based on and consistent with their core values. Values are what people judge to be right and acceptable. They are moral, ethical and professional attributes of character. For the University Lecturers, they are central ingredient guidelines to teaching profession or social work place ethics. This is because academic profession unlike other public professions carries special responsibilities that are subject to public supervision and critique. The primary duty of University Lecturers is to seek and state the truth and exhibit self discipline while transmitting knowledge. At the University, Lecturers do not only encourage their students to pursue education, but also uphold before them the best academic and ethical standards of their disciplines. They are expected to demonstrate respect for students, conduct and ensure that the evaluation of students is genuine without discriminatory treatment, exploitation and sexual harassment often reported in the media. It is ethically important to distinguish between ideologies and personalization whether among staff or between students and lecturers. The latter need to uphold free academic inquiry and tolerate differences of opinions without personalization. This paper therefore posed four questions: What qualities and habits are necessary for a University Lecturer? What are the causes of unethical behaviour? Which attributes facilitate ethical decisions? What ethical responses are essential for a University Lecturer? To contextualize the discussion, we employed a systematic stratified technique. Questionnaires were designed and administered to two hundred (200) respondents from the selected universities respectively.