Era of capitalism is over; universities need new model

Fred Matiang'i, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Science and technology, at the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development in Nairobi on December 1, 2016. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Universities have to think “without the box”.

  • They have to start embracing “foreign concepts” like mergers.

  • They have to innovate and brand.

  • They have to create partnerships, became more innovative and evolve methods of generating extra funds.

Tectonic transformations and shifts in the higher education sector have ushered in a new era for universities in Kenya. By all standards, the changes taking place are not temporary in any way. There are indications that they will have far reaching implication to quality, survival and branding of universities in the country. Inevitably, we will start seeing some universities wind up or at best merge. This has started.

Before the Universities Act 2012 that created the Commission for University Education (CUE), there was no sheriff in town with powers to develop guidelines that every university had to follow. It was more of a free for all terrain with none or minimum supervision. The effects have been variegated on two extreme ends. Universities went ballistic in admitting privately sponsored students. To enhance their competitiveness, they opened outposts all over the country. We may say this was the golden era when money flowed in and both lecturers and administrators had reason to smile to the bank and lecture rooms.

This market-competitive model stimulated competition across universities. Whereas numbers of students mattered in this rat race, there are indications that we may have drastically compromised quality. There is evidence that not much of the money was ploughed back into the development of infrastructure to support learning. But universities are not to blame entirely for everything that went wrong. The thinking within government was that in the era of decreased state funding for universities, the policy would help generate revenue for public universities through privately sponsored students and private sector participation.

ACADEMIC CAPITALISM

Inadvertently, the policy introduced what we may call academic capitalism. Universities moved to prioritise marketisation of their programs and services. The results were not what were anticipated. Public universities have found themselves, unfortunately, adopting private values that are not in line with age old principles that govern knowledge generation, dissemination and social responsibility. Repercussions of commercialisation of education include quality issues and commercialisation of education that has made it possible for issuance of fake degrees. The opening of sub-standard outposts and unethical practices has led to the cheapening of university education. On this, we are guilty as charged. However, there are positive aspects that came with this policy. It helped increase access to educational services, and instilled a sense of responsibility in the students. But significantly, the idea of contributing to one’s own educational development made us emphasise the fact that free things are dangerous to a developing country. And yes, the famous airlifts to India by Kenyan students stopped.

But universities have not been spared further unexpected shocks. First was the appointment of Dr Fred Matiang’i as Minister for Education who came with a radical reform agenda. His tough policies saw the meticulous supervision of KCPE and KCSE examinations. The pool of qualified students who would join universities as privately sponsored students dried up when the KCSE results for 2016 exams were released. All the students who scored C plus, which is minimum entry to university, will be sponsored by government and therefore there is no surplus to join universities as privately sponsored students. Crudely put, the cash cow is now dead and universities have to rethink their strategies.

FINANCING PROGRAMMES

With limited resources from the exchequer, the question is how will universities finance their programmes? There is another shocker in the offing. If the new policy on financing universities based on unit cost is implemented to replace the old model, then new unpleasant realities are awaiting universities.

There is need for serious rethinking of any model of funding of universities. It is for example not true that only economic factors are obstacles to equity. We need to look at education as the principal means for equalisation of opportunities among citizens. It is therefore important to address historical injustices in funding of universities in Kenya. The idea of visualising Kenya as one homogeneous nation where one standard model applies may not be useful. The social realities in marginalised areas of Kenya present a challenge to equity that should be examined closely.

I think the era of academic capitalism is for sure dead. Universities have to think “without the box”. They have to start embracing “foreign concepts” like mergers. They have to innovate and brand. South Africa presents a good example of how radical changes have created a predictable higher education terrain. They have to create partnerships with industry, became more innovative and evolve methods of generating extra funds.

Prof Egara Kabaji is the founding principal of Turkana University College.