This archive report was first published on 5 October 2019.
As we reflect on the state of our education system, it is imperative to acknowledge the alarming decline of our universities. The Kenyan university has been dying for the past 30 years, a fate sealed by a decision to exile the most 'radical' intellectuals and emasculate those who chose to remain.
This decision led to the vulgarisation of university education in Kenya, with a massive invasion of the Academy by barely literate individuals who rose to the apex of the university education system. The powers that be used this as evidence that nobody needs university education, justifying a reduction in funding and freezing of recruitment of staff.
Today, the government has clearly stated that university education is not a priority, and has shifted its attention to technical and vocational training institutions. Regularly, conversations in official circles suggest that university degrees are useless and unnecessary, and that all that is needed are 'practical skills' and 'street smarts'.
Over the past 10 years, the strangulation of the university has escalated exponentially, with significant reductions in funding every year. Universities have been asked to find their own sources of funding while being under pressure to ensure that tuition fees are not raised.
The result has been a continuing decline in the numbers of academic staff and the resultant poor quality in the products, further 'confirming' the assertion that universities are 'useless'. Employers have been recruited to argue about the unsuitability of Kenyan graduates, and they have done this job convincingly, leading to the widespread perception that nobody needs a university education.
As we move forward, it is crucial that we empower our universities to lead this country into the future. We need to fund them sufficiently to teach, conduct research that answers questions important to our developmental aspirations, and provide services that solve urgent problems in our communities.
Anything short of this only guarantees a dreadful future full of automatons that operate on 'instructions from above', incapable of thinking for themselves or for society.
— Lukoye Atwoli is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Moi University School of Medicine
