Does State, private varsities deal make economic sense?

In the last one week at least three private universities have publicly listed the government sponsored students they have admitted. Others might follow soon. It is the first time the government is taking this step. What informed this decision? Does it make economic sense?

There could be two reasons. One, the government is opening more opportunities for our kids to pursue higher education. Two, and this is said in whispers; the government has given some private universities an economic lifeline. It is public knowledge that competition in higher education is driving some private universities to economic dire straits.

That was long expected. We even asked sometimes ago if higher education has not reached the shakeout stage. If you are in the CBD at 8pm you may not believe that universities have problems with numbers.

Droves of youngsters walk towards bus stations on their way home. But divide all these youngsters among almost 70 or so universities and foreign universities and they are reduced to a trickle for each university. Noted the university adverts in both electronic and print media?

Add the opening of campuses in every village ad hamlet and competition starts taking a toll on finances of the private universities, which unlike public ones are not assured of government capitation.

Economies of scale and scope really matters in higher education. Once you built a university or college, it becomes hard to convert it to an alternative use.

Faculty specialisation adds another cost to higher education.

Proliferation of courses of study, some which are confusing to students has not made matters better.

Recently a parent wrote to me asking me how to differentiate among the following: BSc Statistics vs. BSc Economics & Statistics vs. Bachelor of Economic & Statistics, Bachelor in Justice & Security Studies vs.

Bachelor of Security Studies & Criminology and BSc Information Science vs. BSc Information Technology vs. Business Information Technology.

He added, “Which course is better than the other and what’s their target market?” Am still doing my research.

There is another hidden factor in competition for students in higher education, decline in population growth. Data from World Bank shows that Kenya population growth rate declined from the peak of 3.22 per annum in 1982 to 2.47 around 1998. It has remained around that rate.

Demographers can you explain this decline to us? Was it the result economic hardship resulting from liberalization and the subsequent rise in the cost of living? Was it AIDs? This data show that fewer kids were born after 1998, the group now getting into campus. Anyone surprised by fall in student numbers?

Back to our question, should the government subsidise private universities, for that is what is happening? We could argue, yes.

Those kids are better off going to school than staying at home. They are likely to be more productive in the long run. What we might ask is if the courses they are taking are critical to the economy. Should the government not demand that only STEM courses be sponsored?

Why sponsor students to study courses that are already flooded in public universities? The problem with sponsorship is that students are unlikely to think much about the aftermath of graduation.

This sponsorship has other unintended consequences. One, the prestige associated with public universities because of admitting top students at KCSE will get eroded.

That will create a level playground for all the universities. The ground was prepared by the new University law of 2012 which put all the universities under the same law instead of Acts that established individual universities.

Government sponsorship to private universities will create a new round of competition among the universities.

The flexibility of private universities means they are likely to win the new battle.

Do not be surprised that in the next few years top KCSE students will be applying private universities as first choice.

This new phase of competition may force public universities to be more like private universities, if they have to compete. The mounting of prestigious courses like medicine in private universities will be a game changer.

The new competition will create new rankings of Kenyan universities which might surprise you. Can try and predict the top Kenyan universities in 2030? There is another rosy part of this sponsorship; the class divide will narrow as students from all social economic backgrounds mix in both public and private universities.

One hopes that the difference between what the government pays and what private universities charges can be topped by parents, government or well wishers.

Finally, if the government can sponsor students into private universities, why not do the same for the private primary schools, the academies?

This will close the great divide between the affluent and not so affluent leading to greater social harmony. What do you think?