Scandal highlights need for business links

The disclosure that more than two dozen Kenyan universities have been offering unapproved degree courses is likely to affect the careers of tens of thousands students, experts said, but it elicited a public cry for a clear strategy to develop strong links between education and the private industry.

The Commission for University Education last month revealed that 26 universities were offering 133 degree courses which were not approved by the government. In an audit report, the commission rejected the programs, which have an overall enrollment potential of 10,000 students, and accused the institutions of offering duplicate programs or programs that were above their capacities in resources and teaching staff.

The regulator is mandated to approve all university programs and ensure maintenance of standards, quality and relevance in all aspects of university education. Despite an assurance that this was a "normal finding", experts are calling for increased participation of the business community in higher education to validate the quality of programs.

The largest portion of programs affected cuts across sciences, technology and engineering courses. Students and their parents are concerned that those still enrolled in these programs may be disrupted, while those who have graduated will have their degrees derecognized by prospective employers.

The revelations came to light when the government undertook an audit of the subsector in preparation for students' enrollment using a recently-launched digital system. In a bid to enhance transition from secondary to tertiary level, the government is placing more than 652,000 candidates in various institutions.

The process, which was to start soon, will likely be delayed by the crisis as the review of the programs starts. Experts, however, believe it is time to urgently bring the private sector on board.

"There is direct correlation between quality of higher education and economic productivity of a country. The only way the institutions of higher learning can produce competent graduates suitable for the job market is when the entrepreneurs participate in curriculum development and invest in research and development to inform their expansion strategies," said Herman Kiriama, a senior research fellow at Kisii University in western Kenya.

He said partnership between the academia and private sector would accelerate the country's effort in building a talent pool that would be globally competitive. "It is a fast avenue toward catching up with the rest of the world."

The country has more than 10,000 graduates annually from public universities, according to the government. Complaints from employers. however, show a mismatch between the country's developmental goals and programs being offered at the universities.

Information technology and computer sciences were among the programs whose quality have been put in doubt. They also happen to be courses with a high number of vacancies

Kenya has 74 universities. The majority of the 26 universities now under investigation are relatively new.

This is not the first time that such a crisis has hit the higher education sector. In 2015, 10 universities were closed down, threatening the steady expansion of university access in Kenya. Yet the Global Human Capital Report 2017, released by the World Economic Forum, placed Kenya among the top five African countries in human skills development. It was also ranked fairly well, by African standards, in capacity of human capital due to its "comparatively strong education quality" and a high literacy rate.