This archive report was first published on 13 August 2019.
On Tuesday, Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha ordered universities to stop offering irrelevant courses, sparking concerns about the qualifications of students graduating from Kenya's universities.
Speaking at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Prof Magoha noted that a number of both public and private universities are suffering from duplication of irrelevant courses and are opening campuses across the country.
“The current system has allowed universities to start offering so many irrelevant courses which do not correspond to market needs. This must be addressed,” he said.
Prof Magoha proposed that the institutions turn their small, unsustainable campuses into constituent colleges, a move aimed at ensuring universities offer quality education that matches market needs.
He also pointed out that some universities are unable to sustain their companies while others lack qualified academic staff to teach the many courses they are offering, resulting in compromises which affect the quality of education.
Prof Magoha further noted that most of the institutions are insolvent, thus unable to pay their employees, and proposed a ratio of 70:30 for academic staff to non-teaching staff.
He said, however, that so far, 10 universities have started reducing their numbers of non-teaching staff.
Prof Magoha also directed the Commission for University Education (CUE) to submit its report on the merger on July 31, in readiness for the competency-based curriculum.
