Higher education: Financial dilemma for mature students

Antony Ngatia

There is a huge increase in the number of people going back to college after the age of 30, but for some, the investment is not worth it.

Francis Miano, 40, a high school teacher came to terms with this reality soon after clearing his Bachelor of Education Arts degree at Kenyatta University, three years ago.

With a diploma in Education from Kagumo Teachers College, he opted to enroll for a degree at Kenyatta University, which cost him Sh480,000. He had hopes of a promotion after submitting his degree certificate to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), his employer, but that was not to be.

"I was disappointed that the only increment I got was slightly over Sh1,000," he says. "And to make matters worse, I had thought the certificate would be a cavalry that would lift me up two job groups. To move to the next job group, I had to sit for an interview," he says.

For Frank Magu, 34, and a former policeman, "going back to college after my first job was the worst financial blunder. I was already earning Sh18,000, but now see what I’m doing," he says as he stacks crates of soda outside a supermarket. Out of a regular employment, today he ekes out his living by scraping through odd jobs.

"The allure for better, high paying job made me cross the border to Kampala International University to study clinical medicine where the entire investment cost Sh1.2 million," he says. However, to date he is yet to get a job.

"I have sat for the Clinical Board exams locally three times, but I failed," he says.

While his father had sold two plots in Eldoret to finance his education, thousands of working people and over 30years old are borrowing huge loans from banks to finance university education locally or in neighbouring countries.

But this has not come without a price; both socially and financially. Recently, a research showed an increase in divorces and separations as a result of middle aged women going back to university for MAs and MBAs. According to the research, this is causing tension in homes due to suspicions of infidelity between partners.

PhD candidate

But the financial implications have even been greater because on average these mature students are spending more than Sh500,000 for a four–year programme.

According to Noah Wanjala, 34, a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Egerton University and currently a PhD candidate, "there has been a notable rise in the number of over 30 years-olds seeking further education. While some are working and married, others have postponed marriage to study," he says.

He offers varied reasons for the new development: "Some people are out to retain their jobs. Others are seeking papers for upward mobility in their careers, some feel there are brighter prospects for the highly educated," he says.

For Wanjala, he had trained as an English and Literature teacher at Kenyatta University. However, it took long before TSC could employ him and hence, he enrolled for a Master’s Degree in Education at the same institution. When he couldn’t find a job, he enrolled for an MBA degree and just as he was graduating, TSC offered him a job in Kisii, where he had a brief stint before joining Egerton University.

"I have spent more than Sh1.7 million. To recover the amount, it will perhaps take five years earning a net monthly salary of Sh30,000," he says

His experience is not unique, at a recent open day at Mt Kenya University this writer met a 37-year-old student, pursuing a Degree in Public Health.

Entire course

"Prior to joining Mt Kenya University, I had initially gone to Makerere, Uganda for inquiries, but am glad I got the chance home," he says joyfully. To complete the entire course, he will spend Sh450,000 on tuition and other expenses.

"I know I should be thinking of family life now, but I opted to first pursue a professional course," says Lucy Wambui, 30, a second year Diploma in Animal Health student at the same institution.

By the time she completes her course, she will have spent over Sh300,000 including hostel fees.

But is this craze for diplomas and degrees worth it financially?

According to Joshua Macharia, a linguistics lecturer at St Augustine University, Tanzania, on a sabbatical leave in Kenya: "It may seem a worthy choice for many; there is opportunity costs associated with going for higher education when over 30. One needs to consider age, marketability of the course in terms of newer job opportunities, and current job position.

Going for a Bachelor of Commerce degree in marketing, for instance, while one is 40 may not make sense if one is not a marketing manager already. Some courses require one to study while young."

Like any other investment, education should be considered in terms of returns. Higher education has social and private returns. While social returns appertains to societal benefits of having an educated person, private returns entail the personal benefits accruing from having a degree including a higher salary, upward mobility, and more job opportunities.

Consideration of the payback period of education is important before enrolling in college. Returns from a Sh400,000 university course that takes four years could be evaluated by using the simple pay back calculation.

Going by this calculation, if the salary for each of the next four years after graduation will be Sh100,000 in the first year, Sh120,000 in year two, Sh180,000 in year three, and Sh180,000 in the fourth year, then it is worth it because it will take three years to recover the amount.

An alternative method can, however, be used when one wants to find out if it is worth spending on an extra degree.

Valuable decision

A 2002 US Census Bureau Report, The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-life Earnings offers a valuable decision-making methodology.

According to the survey, one could add up the cost of pursuing a degree, including transport, accommodation, textbooks then compare the average market salary rates together with all the advancement opportunities available in a profession.

After that, one can multiply the annual salary by the number of years remaining until they retire to get their earning potential.

By comparing this earning potential with their current one, which can be obtained by multiplying the current year’s salary with the number of years remaining until retirement, one can see if it is worthy going for that extra paper after 30 if the difference is sensible.