Bachelor of Arts in Kiswahili

1.5 ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Minimum Admission Requirements
The minimum requirements for admission to the undergraduate Kiswahili Programme
are as follows:
i. KCSE mean grade C+ or equivalent

ii. KCSE C- or equivalent Plus a Diploma from a recognized institution
iii. O Level Division II or equivalent Plus a Diploma from a recognized
institution
iv. O Level Division III or equivalent Plus a Certificate and Diploma
v. O Level Division III or equivalent Plus a three-year Diploma from a
recognized post-secondary institution for admissions to Bachelor of Education
vi. A Level with two principal passes (one of which must be in Kiswahili) or
equivalent
vii. Higher National Diploma in relevant field with a mean grade of C in KCSE
viii. Degree from a recognized university
ix. Besides the above requirements, the applicant must have a minimum score of C+ in Kiswahili at O Level or its equivalent

3.2 Regulations of Credit Transfers
A candidate from a university or any other equivalent institution recognized by the University of
Nairobi Senate wishing to transfer to the B.A. programme at the University of Nairobi shall be
allowed to transfer credits from his or her university if those credits are deemed to be relevant
and meet the required minimum contact hours. A University of Nairobi student who obtains a
credit or credits from a recognized university shall be allowed to transfer those credits to the
University of Nairobi. The transferred credits shall not be more than a third (1/3) of the total
prescribed credits and course units required for the award of the B.A. degree.
3.3 Exemptions
Common University of Nairobi regulations governing exemptions shall apply.
(a) Those seeking exemptions shall pay an exemption fee approved by the University of Nairobi
Senate.
(b) A candidate seeking exemption shall be required to follow the faculty-approved procedure.

4. COURSE REQUIREMENTS
4.1 Students Obligation
Students will be required to attend a minimum of 75 percent of the lecture hours.
Students will also be required to take a minimum of two assignments per semester.
All students majoring in Kiswahili will be required to undertake fieldwork in the fourth year of
their study.

4. 2 Lecturer and online Tutor Obligations

Every lecturer will be required to teach at least 45 lecture hours during the duration of the course.
The lecturer is required to give the requisite number of assignments to students.
Lecturers will also be involved in the supervision of fieldwork projects that will be conducted by
students.
5. STUDENT ASSESSMENT POLICY CRITERIA
5.1 Continuous Assessment Test
Students will be given a term paper and one sit-in CAT in the course of the semester which will
constitute 30 percent of the total mark.
5.2 End of Semester Examinations
Students will also take end of semester examinations that will comprise 70 per cent of the total
mark.

6. GRADING SYSTEM
Each course unit shall be graded out of 100 marks and the pass mark shall be 40% for each unit.
These marks shall be translated into letter grades as follows:

70% - 100% = A
60% - 69% = B
50% - 59% = C
40% - 49% = D
Below 40% = E

7.0 EXAMINATION REGULATIONS
7.1 Written Examinations
a) The common University of Nairobi Faculty of Arts Regulations shall apply.
(b) Candidates shall sit for examinations at the end of each semester. Candidates must attend
lectures in the prescribed course units in accordance with University regulations before being permitted to sit for examinations.
(c) Unless otherwise specified, end of semester examinations shall consist of a two-hour paper for each course unit taken in the semester.
(d) Assessment of each candidate’s performance in the course unit taken shall be through the Continuous Assessment Tests (CATs) and end of semester examinations based on percentage grades. CAT assessments shall constitute 30% of the total marks in a given unit and consist of an
average of at least two (2) assignments while end of semester examinations shall constitute 70% of the unit examined.
(e) A candidate who fails any end-of-semester examination at the first attempt shall be allowed two more att(empts to sit and pass that paper when a supplementary examination is next offered.
A supplementary examination shall carry a maximum of 40% of the total marks and coursework marks shall not be considered.
(g) A candidate with failed units shall not be allowed to proceed to the next level unless the candidate has successfully taken and passed the supplementary examination (s).
(h) A candidate shall be permitted a maximum of two supplementary examinations. A candidate
who fails in two successive supplementary examinations shall either be discontinued or allowed the option of substituting the affected department with another one.
(i) A candidate who has seven (7) or more failed units in an academic year shall be discontinued.

Examination Schedule
Year 1 - 4

COURSE TITLE EXAMINATION DURATION
1 ST YEAR - 1 ST SEMESTER

CKS3 101: Listening Skills and Oral Communication in Kiswahili 1X2 HRS
CKS3 103: Introduction to Kiswahili Prose 1X2 HRS

1 ST YEAR - 2 ND SEMESTER

CKS3102: Introduction to Translation and Interpretation 1X2 HRS
CKS3104: Introduction to Kiswahili Linguistics 1X2 HRS

2 ND YEAR - 1ST SEMESTER

CKS3 201:Functional Writing in Kiswahili 1X2 HRS
CKS3203: Communicative Grammar of Kiswahili 1X2 HRS

2 ND YEAR – 2 ND SEMESTER

CLK 202: Modern Kiswahili Poetry and Drama 1X2 HRS
CLK204:Kiswahili and the Media 1X2 HRS

CORE COURSES 3 RD YEAR – 1 ST SEMESTER
CLK 301: Kiswahili Phonology and Morphology 1X2 HRS
CLK 303: Performing Arts in Kiswahili 1X2 HRS
CLK 302: Literary Theories & Criticism of Kiswahili 1X2 HRS
CLK 304: Practical Translating and Interpreting 1X2 HRS
ELECTIVES 3 RD YEAR - 2 ND SEMESTER
CLK 305: Sociolinguistics 1X2 HRS
CLK 306: Stylistics 1X2 HRS
CLK 307: Kiswahili Dialectology 1X2 HRS
CLK 308: Children’s and Young Adult Literature in Kiswahili 1X2 HRS
CLK 309: Editing 1X2 HRS
CLK 310: Kiswahili and Emerging Issues 1X2 HRS
CORE COURSES 4 TH YEAR – 1 ST SEMESTER
CLK 401: Public Speaking and Speech writing in Kiswahili 1X2 HRS
CLK 402: Research Methods and Academic Writing 1X2 HRS
CLK 403: Traditional and Modern Linguistic Theories 1X2 HRS
CLK 404: Kiswahili Oral Literature and Culture 1X2 HRS
ELECTIVES 4 TH YEAR - 2 ND SEMESTER
CLK 405: Practicum 1X2 HRS
CLK 406: Semantics and Discourse Analysis 1X2 HRS
CLK 407: Lexicography and Terminology Development 1X2 HRS
CLK 408: Classical Kiswahili Literature 1X2 HRS
CLK 409: Early and Modern Development in Kiswahili 1X2 HRS

Project/Thesis and dissertation
Students who are taking fieldwork will be required to write a project. The project will be
supervised by the assigned supervisor/s.

11

7.3 Moderation of examinations
Draft examination papers will be moderated by the department. The final examinations shall be
moderated by an external examiner who shall be appointed by the university according to the
laid down procedure.

8.0 GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
8.1 Award of Degrees
In order to qualify for an award of a B.A. degree, a candidate must have registered for, attended
lectures, sat examinations and passed in at least 44 units taken throughout the period of study for
the degree. In exceptional cases a candidate may, with the prior approval of the department and
faculty, register and pay to audit courses. The audited courses must be indicated as such during
registration, and only one audited course shall be allowed per semester. Grades for successfully
audited courses taken from outside the prescribed ones shall be included in the candidate’s result
slips and shall be identified by means of the symbol (AS) in parenthesis, where (AS means
Audited Successfully.
8.2 Classification of Degree
Degrees shall be awarded as; first class, second class honors, upper division, second class honors
lower division and pass

9. DESCRIPTION OF THESIS/DISSERTATION/ PROJECT
9.1 Rationale of thesis/dissertation/project in the Programme
Students who are taking Kiswahili as a major option will be required to write a dissertation as
part of the requirement.
9.2 Facets of the thesis/dissertation/project
The following will be the facets of the project in the BA Kiswahili programme:
Abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, presentation of results, discussion,
conclusion (references/bibliography and appendices)
9.3 Regulations of the thesis/dissertation/project
A masters dissertation will have at least a minimum of 20 000 words in length.

10. COURSE EVALUATION
The following will constitute the evaluation of BA in Kiswahili:
a) The degree programme shall consist of course work, examination and thesis.
b) The programme shall be covered in a minimum of six (6) and a maximum of ten (10)
semesters for full-time students and fourteen (14) semesters for part-time students from
the date of registration.
c) Each candidate shall be required to successfully complete a minimum of eight (8) course
units during the first and second semester of the first year of study.
d) In addition, candidates shall be required to take the end of the term examination.
Each course unit shall have a minimum of 45 contact hours, and shall be covered within a
semester of 12 weeks.
Each student shall be required to take a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of four (4) course
units in one semester.

11. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAMME
11.1 placement of Housing
The programme shall be housed in the Department of Kiswahili, Faculty of Arts, college of
Humanities and Social Sciences.

11.2 Academic Leadership
The academic leader of the programme shall be the Head of Department, Department of
Kiswahili.

11.3 Quality Assurance mechanism
The following internal quality mechanisms shall apply:
1. The quality management systems manual of the University of Nairobi shall be adhered to.
2. All the examination procedures identified in the quality management systems manual
shall be adhered to.
3. Departmental review meetings for all courses taught will be held every semester
4. Clear guidelines for the setting, moderation, supervision and examination process will be
given to the lecturer at the beginning of every semester
5. Analysis of class evaluation forms will be done at the end of every semester and feedback
communicated to the lecturer in writing.
6. After every five years there will be curriculum review and the results will be
implemented.

7. All University of Nairobi guidelines for quality assurance shall be strictly adhered to.

COURSE UNITS
12.1 List of Course Units
Year 1-4
COURSE UNITS

COURSE TITLE LECTURE HOURS
1 ST YEAR - 1 ST SEMESTER

CLK 101: Listening Skills and Oral Communication in Kiswahili 45 HRS
CLK 103: Introduction to Kiswahili Prose 45HRS

1 ST YEAR - 2 ND SEMESTER

CLK 102: Introduction to Translation and Interpretation 45HRS
CLK 104: Introduction to Kiswahili Linguistics 45HRS

2 ND YEAR - 1ST SEMESTER

CLK 201:Functional Writing in Kiswahili 45HRS
CLK 203: Communicative Grammar of Kiswahili 45HRS

2 ND YEAR – 2 ND SEMESTER

CLK 202: Modern Kiswahili Poetry and Drama 45 HRS
CLK204:Kiswahili and the Media 45HRS
CORE COURSES 3 RD YEAR – 1 ST SEMESTER
CLK 301: Kiswahili Phonology and Morphology 45 HRS
CLK 303: Performing Arts in Kiswahili 45HRS
CLK 302: Literary Theories & Criticism of Kiswahili 45 HRS
CLK 304: Practical Translating and Interpreting 45 HRS
ELECTIVES 3 RD YEAR - 2 ND SEMESTER
CLK 305: Sociolinguistics 45 HRS
CLK 306: Stylistics 45 HRS
CLK 307: Kiswahili Dialectology 45 HRS

CLK 308: Children’s and Young Adult Literature in Kiswahili 45 HRS
CLK 309: Editing 45 HRS
CLK 310: Kiswahili and Emerging Issues 45 HRS
CORE COURSES 4 TH YEAR – 1 ST SEMESTER
CLK 401: Public Speaking and Speech writing in Kiswahili 45 HRS
CLK 402: Research Methods and Academic Writing 45HRS
CLK 403: Traditional and Modern Linguistic Theories 45 HRS
CLK 404: Kiswahili Oral Literature and Culture 45 HRS
ELECTIVES 4 TH YEAR - 2 ND SEMESTER
CLK 405: Practicum 45 HRS
CLK 406: Semantics and Discourse Analysis 45 HRS
CLK 407: Lexicography and Terminology Development 45 HRS
CLK 408: Classical Kiswahili Literature 45 HRS
CLK 409: Early and Modern Development of Kiswahili 45 HRS

12. 2 Duration and Structure
The degree programme shall consist of course work, examination and project.
● The programme shall be covered in a minimum of six (6) and a maximum of ten (10)
semesters for full-time students and fourteen (14) semesters for part-time students from
the date of registration.
● Each candidate shall be required to successfully complete a minimum of eight (8) course
units during the first and second semester of the first year of study.
● Each course unit shall have a minimum of 45 contact hours, and shall be covered within a
semester of 15 weeks.
● Each student shall be required to take a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of four (4)
course units in one semester.
● On successful completion of coursework, the student shall present a research proposal for
approval in a departmental seminar.
● After approval of the research proposal, the student will undertake supervised research,
write and submit a project within the remaining period of the programme.

12.3 Course Matrix

Learning outcome 1
Demonstrate effective
communication skills in Kiswahili
language as the country’s national
and official language

CLK 101, CLK 102, CLK 104, CLK 201, CLK 203,
CLK 204, CLK 401

Learning outcome 2
Conduct research on various
aspects of Kiswahili linguistics
and literature
.

CLK 103, CLK 102, CLK 104, CLK 202, CLK 204,
CLK 302, CLK 303, CLK 304, CLK 305, CLK 306,
CLK 307, CLK 308, CLK 310, CLK 402, CLK 403,
CLK 404, CLK 405, CLK 406, CLK 407, CLK 408,
CLK 409

Learning outcome 3
Apply Kiswahili language
competencies in various work
environments

CLK 101, CLK 102, CLK 201, CLK 203, CLK 303, CLK
304, CLK 309, CLK 401, CLK 402