The audit, CS Magoha says should include lecturers, in a bid to ensure they too are equal to the task and compile a report by end of July this year/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 6- Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has directed the Commission for University Education to audit the quality of degree programmes amid rising concerns that some are irrelevant to Kenya’s economy.
The audit, CS Magoha says should include lecturers, in a bid to ensure they too are equal to the task and compile a report by end of July this year.
The Cabinet Secretary was speaking when he launched an ongoing workshop on the state of Higher Education in Kenya on Monday, where he says the current situation is dire but has promised to oversee radical reforms.
He gave an example of climate change, an emerging menace that institutions of higher learning are yet to explore.
“When you look at the climate change, for example, is it real or not? The Government would be stupid if it doesn’t take action now, what are you doing about it?” he asked, during the workshop attended by key education stakeholders.
He wondered, “why do you (institutions of higher learning) want to duplicate courses and yet after a period, you see people dying because there is no water?”
“We cannot have all universities offering the same courses, getting the same funding. That funding model is fatal and it has to be stopped right now for the University system to survive.”
His sentiments were echoed by Technical University of Kenya Vice Chancellor Prof. Francis Aduol who says the status of the higher education is wanting largely because of constrained resources despite massive numbers of students coupled with lack of facilities and staff.
Prof Aduol lamented that at the current status, Kenya institutions of higher learning cannot guarantee to produce quality professionals.
“The bottom line is we are doing very badly as Universities, in two aspects; the quality of education we are supposed to give and coverage as well,” he said. “We have done very well in terms of expansion. Today, Kenya has one of the largest representation of Universities population on the African content. But what should be bothering us is what are we giving out with these huge numbers of Universities.”
He noted that “those who have been within the University system a little bit longer are a bit disappointed. The fact that the Universities are not doing well is not because Vice Chancellors do not know. The problem is the circumstances we found ourselves.”
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