A shameless case for teaching 'unmarketable' varsity courses

One of the most exaggerated notions we had as children was that of university education. Back then, universities were just a handful - University of Nairobi, Egerton, Moi, Kenyatta University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Maseno. Of course there were polytechnics and other colleges, but these rated a rung lower. You see, only about 10,000 ended up as State-sponsored ‘campus students’ in the country, or so our romantic view of higher learning had us believe.

The really good ones got scholarships to study abroad, and were held in cult-like esteem if they ever returned. A graduate’s bar views were regarded with awe. You could have been an anthropology freshman, but your views on the weather were the official meteorological report across many ridges. Actually, if a graduate lost his brains to illegal smokables, the village would excuse his new cabbage status as the effect of reading too many books.