University education in the doldrums

Concern has been raised over the competence of universities to produce skilled personnel who will drive the engine of the economy, because they are invariably underfunded, short-staffed and ill-equipped.

They have, therefore, found themselves caught in a vicious cycle, where they have to introduce too many programmes and open the gates to too many students to raise enough funds for running the programmes. This expansion has compounded the challenges in the sense that despite the money generated, the resources still remained limited.

The challenges facing the universities were brought to the fore this week when the University of Nairobi was forced to cancel an examination at the last minute because the questions were sub-standard, and worse, the examiners had provided set multiple -choice questions.

Arguably, this may be just one case, but it is a pointer to a deeper problem in the universities. Due to the phenomenal expansion and limited resources, structures and systems have been stretched to the limit. In fact, one can reasonably argue that the systems are on the verge of collapse.

Expansion of university education is inevitable for a growing economy. More people, young and old, are seeking university degrees, meaning that more opportunities must be provided to accommodate them.

But the expansion is now out of control uncontrolled. The universities have joined the market forces and open their gates for alternative degree programmes and religiously sought money for their sustenance. Little, however, has been done to secure the standards.

Not surprisingly, we have a situation where second degree holders supervise postgraduate students and run academic departments, which is scandalous. University administrators must take this as an opportunity to ask themselves a simple question: We have moved fast, yes, but in what direction?