Address disparities in education to enhance social harmony

Friday’s graduation at Strathmore University had one great story that didn’t make the headlines: How girls seem to have overrun boys in the race to academic excellence.

Of the 1,021 graduands at the prestigious private university, 56 per cent were female and 44 per cent male, according to statistics published in the graduation handbook. That means at least 120, or 12 per cent, more women than men.

But the more significant comparative statistics weren’t obvious from the official handout. As deans of schools and faculties presented candidates for conferment of degrees, it became apparent that there were more female than male candidates at the upper end of the academic ladder. The gap between female and male achievers was astonishing: 70 per cent of the first class graduates were women.

DISPARITIES

These high achievers accounted for eight per cent of the graduates. A similar trend was observed in the upper second-class honours category, which made up 48 per cent of the graduates.

Moreover, four of the five undergraduates recognised for academic excellence were women; so was the only recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for being an all-round performer. Women were also dominant at the master’s level.

The Strathmore Business School presented an impressive 124 Master of Business Administration (MBA) women graduates. At the doctoral level, a lone man shared the coveted podium with two women.

The academic performance curve was clearly skewed in favour of women. Robust research, capturing data from all universities over time, can best explain the factors contributing to such disparities. It would provide empirical evidence on the trend and significance of the academic outcomes observed as students complete their university studies.

LEADERSHIP

Lack of such data contributes to the many theories that attempt to explain the general timidity of boys in the academic and other spheres of life. The most common belief is that sustained affirmative action, championed by women and men alike, has greatly contributed to the emerging power of girls.

Role models

Another theory is that boys lag because they have few reliable role models and only a few people and organisations champion the rights of the boy-child. The anecdotal evidence presented during boy-child talks is that fathers have failed in their leadership roles and are less inspiring as role models.

Corruption and abuse of office could be adding fuel to the fire, contributing to the worrying performance and self-esteem of the boy-child. Of the 19 suspects charged with corruption at the National Youth Service, 13, or 68 per cent, are men — including former director-general Richard Ndubai. That is against six women, among them the suspended Public Service principal secretary, Ms Lillian Mbogo-Omollo.

TENDERPRENEURS

These statistics are not unique to the NYS case. For instance, the perpetrators of Goldenberg, Anglo Leasing and other grand corruption scams that included massive looting of public funds were mostly men, who included senior public officers and ‘tenderpreneurs’.

Gender balance at all stages of human development is important in social and economic transformation. Whatever the underlying reasons for the academic outcomes of women and men, the government and the society need to deal with the disparity as it affects the country’s future.

The high performers are more likely to get jobs and earn more decent incomes. The inequalities in economic opportunities is also likely to negatively affect how the men and women relate with each other, though they, ideally, should enjoy a harmonious relationship.

MANAGEMENT

Also needing to be addressed is why women, after scaling up the academic ladder, fade at middle-level management positions. It’s not clear why, given the same opportunities as fresh graduates, men tend to rise faster than women to positions of authority. The boards of the largest, most influential firms are men-dominated; so is the political leadership at all levels.

While the Constitution seeks to improve gender equality through the ‘two-thirds rule’, it should be beefed up with practical programmes that focus on emerging challenges such as the disparity in academic performance between boys and girls.

Mr Warutere is a director of Mashariki Communications Ltd. [email protected].