Challenges facing universities set to dominate chancellors’ convention

Challenges facing universities are set to dominate the first major Chancellors’ Convention set for next week in Nairobi.

The conference comes in the wake of a threat by the government to close down universities that are not adhering to standards and regulations.

The chancellors will be seeking to come up with measures to ensure that they are not closed after the Commission for University Education (CUE) announced that it will undertake a quality audit inspection of all universities from January 23 to February 10.

The conference is expected to be attended by former presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki.

The conference, which will be addressed by top scholars, among them Prof Calestous Juma from Harvard University, and Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang’i and Henry Rotich, will be attended by chancellors from public and private universities.

Former presidents Moi and Kibaki are chancellors of Kabarak University and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology respectively.

However, it is not clear if President Uhuru Kenyatta will attend the meeting, being the chancellor of Kibabii University.

The convention comes after the Ministry of Education introduced regulations developed in September last year. One of the regulations seeks to have chancellors have more say in management of universities.

The regulations provide for the Chancellors’ Forum, which should take place at least twice a year with each vice-chancellor being required to submit a “State of the University” report to the respective chancellor.

CURRENT CHALLENGES

The conference will be held at Safari Park Hotel and Casino from January 25 to 26. Its theme will be “University Education and Sustainable Development in Kenya”.

The meeting has been organised by the Chancellors Committee, the Ministry of Education and the CUE and will seek to address the current challenges and generate solutions.

“In bringing together key stakeholders in university education in Kenya, the convention will not only take stock of achievements, but will seek to consolidate and enhance these achievements,” says the concept paper.

The government recently started a plan to establish and implement coherent and comprehensive policy and legal frameworks for the future of the higher education sector.

“The insights and analysis presented at the convention will provide a critical retrospection for strategic, coherent and systematic development of the sector,” adds the concept note.

Universities are grappling with numerous challenges that range from lack of facilities and infrastructure, continued reliance on overseas education, overall quality of education, and costs, funding, capacity development and research output.

“The convention is intended to address these challenges and identify strategic opportunities which universities should take cognisance of,” said Prof Judith Bahemuka from the Chancellors Committee.

Kenya has experienced considerable expansion of university education over the last 10 years. Currently there are 35 public universities and constituent colleges, compared to only six public universities in 2005.

INTERIM LETTERS

There are currently 33 private universities which have been given charters or given interim letters of authority by CUE.

The current enrolment stands at 500,000 students in both public and private universities.

Last month, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Education to ensure that all universities increase their academic research and library budgetary allocations by between two to 10 per cent of their total institutional budget to raise the standards of research.

He also asked all public universities to pay attention to maintaining the quality and integrity of university examinations and dissertations.

He has also asked all universities to ensure that their approved curriculum meets the specific needs of the employment market, in particular the promotion of entrepreneurship.

CUE chief executive officer David Some said the findings of an audit will inform policy advisory to the government on quality assurance and integrity of university education.

Universities are set to scramble for 88,929 candidates who attained the minimum university entry qualification of a C+ and above in last year’s KCSE.

As for now, more than 133,721 students who scored a C will have to pursue diploma courses.