This archive report was first published on 6 August 2019.
Published on August 6, 2019, by Patrick Mbataru, a renowned author, the article highlights the challenges facing PhD students in Kenyan universities.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has raised concerns about the authenticity of PhDs in Kenyan universities, with only one out of 10 possibly being genuine. The issue is attributed to a combination of factors, including the high demand for higher degrees, a lack of qualified lecturers, and inadequate research funding.
According to Allen Ezell and John Bear's study, 'Degree Mills: The Billion-dollar Industry,' the selling of fake bachelor's, master's, and PhD degrees has become a multi-billion economy. Other studies suggest that over half of those who claim to have PhDs have fake or non-existent certificates.
The article notes that Kenya has attracted global attention for its thriving trade in academic writing for foreign students, as well as a local market for fake degrees. The country's university education has expanded exponentially over the past 30 years, leading to an increase in adult learners seeking higher degrees without a corresponding rise in capacity to train them.
There are approximately 7,000 PhD students in Kenyan universities, but only about 1,200 professors in the country. As a result, universities often engage fresh PhD lecturers to teach and supervise doctoral students. This has led to a situation where some advanced PhD students also teach master's or even PhD classes.
Doctoral studies are expensive, with costs ranging from Sh400,000 to Sh1,500,000 depending on the discipline. Scholarships are scarce, and only those who are working can afford to pursue a PhD. This has led to the popularity of evening, weekend, and holiday classes, with typical PhD students in Kenya being in their 40s.
The article highlights the challenges of supervision in PhD studies, citing the lack of time and resources for lecturers to physically monitor students' fieldwork. It also notes the existence of 'predatory journals' that publish anything on pay, further compromising the integrity of PhD studies.
