Editorial
The Government’s announcement that it intends to double university intake is without doubt good news to thousands of Kenyans who qualify to join university.
Tens of thousands of Form Four leavers have been qualifying to join university every year, but unfortunately only a fraction is admitted to study in public universities by the Joint Admissions Board. Those who qualify have had to wait for almost two years before they are admitted to join university.
It will, therefore, come as a great relief to many who may have otherwise been forced to wait for two years before they are admitted to commence their studies.
But in as much as the decision to have a double intake is a welcome move, there are some conditions that have to be met to ensure that quality of education remains high.
For instance, the Government has to ensure the recommended lecturer to student ratio at the universities is met. The few available lecturers should not be burdened with extra students. They should also not be made to teach for more hours than necessary, as exhaustion would render them unproductive.
It is hoped that the universities have prepared adequately to host these students by expanding their classroom facilities, hostels and even employing more lecturers. These are not the only challenges that may face the move to increase the university intake.
The trend where the Government is upgrading tertiary institutions into universities is worrying. There has been no effort to put up more tertiary institutions to replace those that have been upgraded to universities or university colleges.
Consequently, thousands of Kenyans who do not qualify to join universities have been left without training colleges where they can study for diploma or certificate courses.
craft a roadmap
This in effect means the employment industry has been left without mid level workers and may eventfully force them to import semi skilled labour. This calls for the managers of education in the country to go back to the drawing board and come up with a workable plan to address these issues.
They should come up with an inventory of the country’s requirement for higher education, the availability of lecturers, their skills and the job market’s demand for skilled and semi skilled labour currently and in future. The current status of our universities and all tertiary institutions and their capacities should also be evaluated. This way, the country can craft a roadmap to enhancing higher education instead of a haphazard endeavour.
