Why Kenya ranks so lowly in doctoral studies among peers in the region

President Uhuru Kenyatta confers a doctoral degree to Daniel Ananda Otanga at Kibabii University last year. [Photo: File, Standard]

Last week, I attended our biennial Bayreuth Alumni meeting in Germany. At one of the round-table discussions, the status of the doctorate in Africa was discussed. Among the panelists was Prof Anne Nangulu from Kenya’s Commission for University Education (CUE), Prof Yamina El Kirat from Morocco’s Mohammed V University and Prof Dodji Amouzouvi from the Université d’Abomey-Calavi in Benin.

While important insights on the status of graduate programmes in general, and the ‘African’ doctorate in particular emerged, the discussions painted a grim picture for Kenyan doctoral studies.