Oliver Mathenge

6 September 2010

Nairobi — Higher Education minister William Ruto on Monday raised concern over the quality of education in Kenyan universities.

Speaking during a consultative meeting with representatives from private universities, the minister said that stakeholders in the higher education sector need to structure programmes that will help meet the needs of Kenyans.

He noted that it was key for the universities to develop human resource with the top notch skills and knowledge that can help the country accelerate growth ambitions outlined in the Vision 2030 plan.

"If the training cannot enhance the country's competitiveness in the region and if the knowledge gained cannot enhance efficiency in both the private and public sectors then we will have failed," Mr Ruto said.

The minister also raised concern over the cost of university education and called on private universities to do an analysis on what is making higher learning in the country expensive. He told the university heads that they should be concerned that Kenyans were still seeking learning opportunities in Ugandan and Indian universities.

But the chairperson of the Kenya Association of Private Universities, Prof Freida Brown challenged the government to make their operation more affordable.

Giving examples of cost of electricity and construction, the United States International University vice-chancellor said that the cost of operations in the country was still very high.

"There is therefore need for collaboration not just between the various universities but also with the government," Prof Brown said.

Expensive

Ms Brown asked the government to assist private institutions access funding to reduce costs. She argued that university education was currently expensive since most private universities rely on tuition fees to finance their operations.

The meeting held at the minister's Jogoo House office also looked at the relevance and access of university training in the country. It also looked at the challenges facing private universities and the opportunities available for the government and the institutions to collaborate.

The minister is scheduled to hold a similar meeting with public university heads later in the week to discuss the same issues.

Mr Ruto also raised the issue of nepotism and tribalism in institutions of higher learning terming it as unacceptable. He also said that there was growing concern over governance and management in universities and called on the institutions' leadership to streamline their operations.

The minister said that private institutions had the capacity to help the government absorb more students to universities adding that this has called for the need for more collaboration.

"It is critical that we begin assessing whether we are equipping people with the knowledge and skills necessary to cater for our needs," said Mr Ruto.

Addressing concerns by the university heads over institutions that were operating illegally, the minister said that several institutions would lose their licences once a 21 grace period given mid-last month comes to an end.