Out of 309 respondents sampled, 38 percent said sciences have more job opportunities compared to arts at 32 per cent. 30 percent of respondents argued both sciences and arts provide employment opportunities in the study dubbed “The State of Sciences Training in Kenyan Universities: Make Science Great Again” conducted between February and April 2017.
The perception that some institutions offer better training in sciences than others is still thriving, with the University of Nairobi considered to be the best in medicine, law and other science disciplines. CPS International’s lead consultant Professor Herman Manyora, however, debunked the perception, saying that may not necessary mean graduates from such institutions are more skilled than their counterparts from other institutions.
“For instance, University of Nairobi medical and law students are considered to be highly trained making employers seek to hire them. They may be wrong but that is what is happening,” Manyora noted. The study also revealed that only 49 per cent of science graduates are considered to be well trained with the remaining 51 per cent respondents disagreeing with the position.
Manyora, however, pointed out that the argument that some graduates are “half-baked” is misplaced stating that graduates are equipped with the knowledge in institutions of higher learning for application in their relevant fields of specialization.
READ: UoN, Mt. Kenya University Top List Of Science Offering Institutions
“Some people think that a university graduate in some science area, for example, automotive engineering should go to the garage and fix a vehicle. No!” he exclaimed. “There’s a whole difference between science and application. Sometimes we accuse our graduates for nothing because they have the knowledge (the science), the practical aspect will be handled by somebody else,” he added.
According to the survey, most employers believed there is a need for enhanced funding by the government in order to improve the quality of training in universities.
This article was first published on Capital News.
