The truth behind 'useless' degrees

In releasing the list of degree choices recently, it was revealed some degree programmes failed to attract enough students to make a class. A scrutiny of these programmes would show some are good except for poor marketability.

However, some are not supposed to be degree programmes but courses. It might be too strong to term such programmes useless, we need to re-examine the courses we offer in our institutions of higher learning and not only align them to the job market, but also make them be able to give students the right knowledge, skills and attitude.

We may ask whether our institutions of Higher Learning have the personnel to develop the right programmes and courses. The problem was the issue of commercialization of programmes. The shift to business approach in higher education is our greatest undoing.

The allure for money did not only lead to atomization of courses but also massive expansion of universities. Unfortunately, no corresponding efforts were extended to address the issue of quality.The joy of university managers was the yearly  or bi yearly  rituals of graduating thousands of un-educated graduates. This ritual has made universities conveyor belts which compete in the number of ‘finished products’ whose quality is of least concern.

The truth is that some of the degree programmes don’t qualify to be what they are purported to be. Universities are duping parents and students, denying students skills that can make them employable.

Further skills

By re-evaluating the programmes in public universities, we should be guided by both market and manpower needs. The latter should see us develop programmes whose direct market is lacking for now, but are crucial as disciplines in human development.

This should see us having programmes out of those that are in high demand now being part of the gamut of programmes offered in our institutions. Moreover, one can train in one profession at undergraduate level and further skills in another.

We should also just appreciate the importance of having specialists in many fields. There are also opportunities for our graduates beyond our borders. Programmes in public universities only need to be reviewed and tuned to meet the demands of the 21st century. Lecturers are overworked as the lecturer –student ratio is disproportionate. The talk of consolidating some universities should thus not be entertained.

Most of these institutions are operating beyond their capacities. Many students are staying outside the institutions thus compromising both their safety and security. Merging some institutions will thus make an already bad situation worse.A visit to slums that have mushroomed next to the institutions give a glimpse into where the students stay due to shortage of accommodation facilities within the institutions.

University Education

However, to review the programmes demands that course development be re-looked at. Lecturers need to be taken for refresher courses on how to develop courses and programmes. We have to accept that this is the terrain of those with specialization in education.

Those of us in the academy know the pain we have gone through preparing programmes to make them conform to the Commission for University Education requirements. It has not been easy to first make the directorate of quality assurance in the institution to give them a clean bill of health before being rejected or accepted by CUE.

This is notwithstanding the pain the course lecturers go through in their development. It is never a walk in the park even for those with a background in education. All of us in the academy need the in-service education in this area. The institutions should also try to facilitate the development of the courses. A way should be found to motivate those involved.

As we address the issue of programme and course reviews, we should also pay attention to related issues. The zeitgeist that anybody with a higher degree can teach at the university should be re-examined.

The conundrum of how ‘anybody’ has been teaching at the university is something only God knows! Those teaching at the institutions should at least have some requisite pedagogical knowledge and skills. We also need to address the issue of facilities and resources. Most of our public universities have dilapidated facilities, which makes nonsense of their being associated with an institution of higher learning.

It is not farfetched to say that some high schools have infrastructure that is superior to that in most public universities. As the CS tries to grapple with the issue bedeviling our universities, he should over and above all look into the issue of funding.Give ye our institutions money and everything will be solved!

Dr Ndaloh is a curriculum and teaching specialist at Moi [email protected]