Why are alumni not supporting universities?

By MICHAEL ORIEDO

University and college graduates should step up to help their alma maters deal with challenges, says a leading educationist.

Prof Mondo Kagonyera, Chancellor of Makerere University says many graduates are not helping colleges and universities to improve quality of learning despite the institutions having made them who they are. "Universities in East Africa have produced very successful people in the corporate world but they do not invest back in the institutions to enhance quality of education and research," he said.

Kagonyera said that in the developed world, it is common for alumni students to donate money to their alma mater.

"This money is particularly used for research and therefore it helps in creating new knowledge. Why doesn’t this happen in East Africa?" he posed.

Reached out

Kagonyera partly blames universities and colleges for not doing enough to seek support from former students.

"If you look around, you will see very successful people who studied in Makerere, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam universities but the institutions have not reached out to them to seek support. I am yet to receive any letter from my former college asking me to donate money for a particular course," says Kagonyera who studied at University of Nairobi in 1960s.

The scholar was speaking at a regional conference on higher education and industry in Nairobi, The Kenya Institute of Management forum brought together scholars from Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

"Today there exists a great disparity between skills students learn at universities and what the job market needs. The result is that universities produce graduates who cannot fit in the job market," said Mr David Muturi, the director of Kenya Institute of Management.

The educationists observed that the quality of university education in the region is plummeting because of an increase in unregulated private institutions.

Currently, there are about 70 universities in East Africa, many of them private.