University Students' Dilemma

1 Kenyan and 3 Chinese arrested for cooking snake stew in Naivasha

By Emma Kuria
Kenya Wildlife Services officials in conjunction with police officers on Sunday 27th January arrested 3 Chinese and one Kenyan for killing and eating snakes in Naivasha, Olkaria.
The police were acting on a tip- off from a witness; they found the four in the process of preparing snake soup after killing a black mamba in the nearby Hell’s Gate National Park.

According to Naivasha deputy OCPD, Paul Korir, the Chinese who are involved in the construction of Olkaria IV power plant had made it a habit of visiting the park for snakes. He further disclosed that there have been complains from the public the suspects had been eating dogs and snakes in the area.

The suspects were taken to the Naivasha police station together with the exhibit in a cooking vessel for safekeeping. The four will be arraigned in court on Monday.

Investigations in to the incident are still in progress

Kenya traders to sue Netherlands Government over miraa ban By Emma Kuria
Miraa traders are considering suing the Netherlands government for banning the sale of the stimulant. Netherlands banned the sale of miraa on January 5, following in the footsteps of many European countries, the US and Canada.
This is after a UK report released last Wednesday said there was no evidence to link the drug to any health problems, thereby rejecting calls for a ban in that country.
The Dutch government cited noise, nuisance by miraa users and littering as some of the reasons behind the ban. Netherlands was the distribution hub for miraa to other European countries and the ban has led to hundreds of packers, transporters and farmers rendered jobless.
Prior to the ban, Kenya exported between 18 to 20 tonnes of miraa to Netherlands weekly. The UK now remains the largest international market for miraa with 30 tonnes being exported there every week.
The UK's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs said in its report that khat (as miraa is called in UK) should not be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
To protect its only market and improve chances of having the Dutch ban revoked, miraa traders are planning certain measures to address the concerns raised by groups calling for its ban in Europe.
"Of most concern is improving output, faster and safer transportation, care for miraa plants, application of pesticides, avoiding school dropouts and child labour. Timely payment for supplies and services be they locally or at the export level, saving regime, investment, hygienic handling and packaging and chewing and distribution habits in London and other markets overseas, new markets and application of Miraa in its natural form," said a statement by Nyamita.
Munjuri said the report that Netherlands used to ban the drug had indicated that 90 per cent of those polled did not see a problem with use of miraa. He added that it was therefore "discriminatory" for Netherlands to ban the drug because of minority opinion.

TWO SIDES OF A COIN: THE DOUBLE LIFE OF A UNIVERSITY STUDENT
By Emma Kuria
More than ever before, sexual immorality, substance abuse and criminal acts have become the new nightmare among students at local universities.
In fact, academic excellence has become secondary to the vices. Whatever it takes, students will go to any length to ensure that they enjoy a luxurious lifestyle and every good thing life brings their way.
'Sexually transmitted degrees'
While a good percentage of students work hard on their academic work, others opt to take the shortcut and collude with lecturers who award them good grades in exchange for sexual favors.
Lisa (not her real name), a soon-to-be graduate at a local university in Eldoret, confesses to sleeping around with lecturers for good academic grades.
“I did this to get good grades and avoid supplementary exams. I rarely attended classes because I have a day job and it is difficult to balance books and work,” says the soft-spoken Lisa. “I have done this several times,” she declares.
Prostitution has hit our campuses hard. Though some of the campus girls find themselves in it through peer pressure and experimentation, most of them are there simply for the money.
Jane (not her real name), a student at the University of Nairobi, confesses that she and her friends transform into twilight girls at night by hitting popular Nairobi streets where known clients pick them to solicit for sex in exchange for hefty amounts of cash. “Some of us receive a thousand shillings in two or three months from our parents. What does a thousand shillings buy nowadays?” she says.
She confesses that pressure to belong to a certain class in campus by owning, among other things, several designer bags, expensive shoes, dresses and change of hairstyle at least every month is a major contributor to prostitution in the campus.
Further inquiry got us some insight into how the girls land themselves the big guys. You have to know the girls in the business, the madams, befriend them and they will be glad to get you a hook up. It only takes a night.
The following morning, depending on how good your negotiation skills are, you may do your walk of shame back to school Sh7,000 to Sh15,000 richer, and a second invite secured.
The lucrative business has also attracted university boys who play the middlemen roles of pimping the girls to willing men, who in turn award them financial tips once they deliver the girls.
On a given venture, the pimps play a brother’s role to the girls. They accompany the girls to the joints where a client is, after agreeing with him how many girls he needs on a given night. Most guys come with their friends and each girl gets attached to a partner over drinks after which they can agree on how much to be paid for sleeping out with the men. Sometimes it’s a whole weekend affair. The girls give him an agreed percentage from their income.
As a result, some of these students have transformed their hostel rooms into showrooms well furnished with state-of-the art music systems and TVs with fridges stocked with the best drinks money can buy.
Social Media option
For those who regard themselves as more private, social media has become the way to go. The suitor tries his luck by inboxing or sending direct messages to female students he may be interested in. In the message he specifies his offer, noting his terms and conditions.
Students from different universities we spoke to identified different places as the hot spot for transactional sex. Such places are also said to be frequented by prominent personalities ranging from those in politics, corporate to entertainment worlds, otherwise also referred to as ‘heavy-spenders’ by the students.
Ruth Masibo, a fourth year student at Moi University Eldoret West Campus, says that posh cars picking and dropping young girls off at university premises have become a norm. She observes that athletes from the region are the major clients of these girls.
The quick money trade has forced some students into criminal acts as peer pressure hits universities. Male students have been forced to resort to dubious means of making money to impress their lovers who are already accustomed to a single night out estimated at Sh5, 000. They are now stealing electronics and money from fellow students and sell them to outsiders.

Flunking out of college: Lack of responsibility
By Emma Kuria
The final year of high school is very important. For most students, this is when they get to choose what course to take at the university. Many have big dreams of becoming doctors, engineers or actuarial scientists. But this dream only remains that once they get into campus. Many students fail to graduate from the colleges they first enroll to.
Once one gets into campus, everything is different, the lecture style is different because lecturers only give 20% and one has to get the rest which means a lot of reading and research. This becomes a problem for many especially those used to being ‘spoon-fed’ in high school. Another problem is that not many campus students take their studies seriously many spend their time taking alcohol and drugs. For this reasons many students are not able to keep their grades up and so they end up repeating or flunking out of college completely.
Moi University is not an exception to this. Every year we hear of students who have failed and end up dropping out. This problem is mostly found among the engineering and medicine students. These are both very demanding causes and other than one being bright, they require a lot of individual reading time which not many university students do because for many, life in the University is all about enjoying their freedom and having fun.
For an engineering student, the pass mark for every subject is 40% anything less than that means a retake, where one has to do another exam or even repeats the whole year. For this reason, you will find students who have been in campus for more than six years. But if one fails all the courses, then they are automatically kicked out of the programme. Sam 24 is now in second year although he joined campus four years ago. “When I got the news that I was going to take telecommunication engineering, I was ecstatic. With all the freedom and new friends, campus life was what I had imagined, having fun. But then as I was enjoying myself, my grades were falling drastically. After my first year, I had not qualified to move on so I had to repeat. I repeated first year twice. After my second year, I had failed again so I was told to choose either to take another course or drop out of the university completely. So I decided to take Information Science. I wish I had done that early since I am doing quite well there.” Like Sam, many students go to the University and take courses they cannot handle. But the sad part is that many realize this when it is too late and so they end up dropping out.
Another problem that many students attribute to failing is stress. Some of the sources of stress include sleep deprivation from staying up late, last minute pressures due to constant procrastination, debts from overspending and loneliness away from home. There is also social insecurity, poor nutrition and healthcare and early pregnancies.
According to the dean of students, many some of the reasons students flunk out of college include lack of seriousness with their studies, wrong choice of courses, and engaging in businesses. “Some students start businesses while in campus. You can find them having shops or even selling items in their rooms. Hence they are unable to concentrate on their studies so many end up failing and eventually dropping out. My advice would be that such students wait until they finish their studies because the degree they get is very important.”
So what can a parent or lecturer do for a failing student? Make demands and expect the student to meet them, accept no excuses and make no exceptions. Encourage them to be more responsible. For many who flunk out, it does not end their college education. They may go back later or they may find somewhere to finish what they began. Just because they failed to engage in college the first time is no excuse for not trying again.