Golden goose parallel university programmes will die a natural death

Prof Kamau Ngamau has been acting VC of the Co-operative University of Kenya since March 2017. Prior to this appointment, he was the Principal of the institution when it was still a University college. With a Doctor of Philosophy in Horticultural Sciences from the University of Hanover, Prof Ngamau also teaches Horticulture at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

What has your experience as Vice Chancellor been so far?
Mine has been an interesting experience. I came into office when universities were wrecked by industrial action and owe my success to the staff at the Co-operative University of Kenya for ensuring that academic programmes resumed fast after the strike.

We have been a busy university with all the activities that accompanied the transition from a university college to a chartered university, including reviewing our strategic plan to lay ground for development projects.

What sets the Co-operative University of Kenya apart from other universities?
It is the niche that the university has carved for itself that makes it exceptional. We are the only co-operative university in Kenya; one of two such universities in Africa. The other university is in Moshi Tanzania. We recognise that co-operatives, being the second largest employer apart from the public sector have a lot of significance to our economy. Co-operatives have been recognised in vision 2030 as key drivers of the economy. Apart from the regular students, we also offer training to staff and groups from ministries and the public to help them in delivering their mandate.

Kenya is ranked second best in Africa in terms of co-operative movements and the seventh globally. How does this translate to our economy?

Most Kenyan households live in poverty. What does this mean for higher education in Kenya?

It is true poverty is real in our country, meaning there are young people denied the opportunity to go beyond the basic level of education. This also, is where co-operatives come in to help parents invest in education. Co-operatives have come up strongly to revive agriculture co-operatives, which used to be strong some years of years of independence but which ended up failing due to mismanagement.

What challenges does Co-op University currently face?

We are a fledgling public university, having been in operation for only six months since we received our charter in October 2016. Our major hurdle is lack of adequate academic staff. We also require finances to speed up the setting up infrastructure.

Again, out of the population of over 4, 000 students we have here, we can afford to accommodate only about 1, 200. Additionally, the government decision to sponsor all candidates who scored C+ and above means that the module II programme, which used to bring in a sizeable amount of money will die a natural death. This is a big blow to universities.

What is your advice to the industry in increasing the employability of graduates?

The industry should work with universities, just as is the case in other countries especially in developing the curriculum. It should increase practical aspects in the students we send them on industrial attachments and also expand internship opportunities.

What can we look forward to from your administration?

We are investing in a learning research centre equipped with a state of the art library and a co-operative incubation and innovation hub to build on business innovations that will be utilised by the industry. We are also forging partnerships with the public and private sector to build hostels for our students.