A university degree is just not enough to get a well-paying job in Kenya

Many people enrol for post-graduate studies to increase their chances of getting employment in Kenya’s competitive job market. Scholars, though, think research should be a key drive for post-graduate studies.

Peter Gutwa, a PhD candidate at Moi University, who graduated with a master’s degree from Egerton University, is concerned about the delay in completion of post-graduate studies. He says many students take more than the two years required to complete master’s degrees while others completely give up. He blames it all on the students’ motivation to study.

“It is easier for somebody who likes research to complete the master’s programme in 24 months than for somebody who just needs a certificate to get a good job,” he says. Gutwa, who did his master’s degree in Anthropology between 2011 and 2013, says only a third of his classmates graduated on time.

Prof Nathan Ogechi, the deputy vice-chancellor (Student Affairs) at Moi University says an individual’s reason to advance their studies determines how well they excel and subsequently apply what they have learnt. “When I was doing my undergraduate course in education, I was clear I did not want to teach in high school. I immediately advanced to master’s, did a PhD and published a lot. It will be different for somebody doing it for status because research is very rigorous,” he says.

The don attributes delay in completing master’s degrees within two years to low entry requirements, unstable research background and few student supervisors in some cases.

“The minimum entry level to a master’s programme was a second class upper honours, but those with the lower honours are enrolled currently. Most students did not learn much about research at undergraduate level, which is a challenge. The programme administration was majorly fulltime but now even those who enrol as fulltime students juggle work with study making it difficult to complete on time,” he says.

Prof Stephen Odebero, head of Open, Distance and E- Learning at Masinde Muliro University of Scirnce and Technology (MMUST) and holds a PhD in Education Planning from Egerton University and a master’s degree in Planning and Economics of Education from Maseno University, says only a few people advance studies with the keenness to contribute to knowledge while others are after getting certificate, a trend he refers to as the “diploma diseases”.

“There is a worrying trend where people just need certificates since employers prefer those with Masters degrees. This messes up the fundamental need of enhancing research through learning. Employers have not even figured out if the Masters holders they employ add value to service delivery,” he says.

The don expressed worry that Masters degrees theses are developed in cyber cafes by individuals who never stepped into post-graduate classrooms.

“There is little, if any, research we can point to. Everyone is writing about the effects or impact of this and that on certain things, doing case studies of villages, locations, schools and companies which is a mere repetition of studies done before. Attending research conferences in Europe, I felt we are far behind: people are trying to understand the world, doing continental comparisons and wide scope case studies. This explains the huge disparity in development,” says Prof Odebero.