VARSITY NEWS.•..'

FACING THE GREATCHALLENGEThe spectre of unemployed graduates, inadequateteaching staff and lack of relevant books compounded byunprecedented thirst for higher education amongKenyans remain the key issues of University Educationin the 1990s, says Prof. Mbithi in a speech to fellowvice chancellors during a recent National UniversitiesPlanning Workshop.

Facing the future with confidence:the Vice-Chancellor

On behalf of myself and theUniversity of Nairobi, I would like tothank the organisers of this PlanningWorkshop for inviting me to talk to youon "Challenges of University Education inKenya".

The issue of University educationis very important to us as is underscoredby frequent statements by His Excellencythe President, who is also Chancellor ofthe Public Universities. In the last fouryears, the number of public Universitieshas increased from one to four. At thesame time, students population has risenfrom 6,000 to 24,000. This dramaticincrease has generated tremendouslyamount of pressure on Universityadministration. It is therefore mostappropriate that Egerton University hasorganised this Workshop to dealspecifically with planning for futuredevelopment.

In most parts of the world, thebiggest problems (which I prefer to see asa challenge) facing University is related topressure for admission and availableplaces. Although some quarters tend torestrict this problem to third worldcountries, it is now manifestly clear thatdeveloped countries are faced with sameproblems, of either very 'high or very lowpressure.

In the Federal Republic ofGermany, for instance, there istremendous competition for availableUniversity places which has led tocongestion in classrooms. But whereascompetition for available Universityplaces in Kenya is primarily a directconsequence of population growth, thepressure German Universities face isrelated to change of values and attitudestowards education in general andUniversity education in particular. Thechanging pressure in Britain, especiallythe low numbers of foreign students isrelated to increase in fees.

The increase in students numbersin Kenya present public universities withthe problem of maintaining acceptableacademic standards i.e. training ofDoctors, Agriculturists, Engineers,Accountants, Administrators, etc. who arecompetent. The issue of maintainingacademic standards revolves aroundvariables such as teacher-student ratios,library books and space per student, total'contact hours per student, total laboratory ,practical tutorial hours and field experienceetc.

EmploymentAnother serious problem facing

University Education is the capacity of theeconomy to absorb all the graduates.Inspite of our continued effort to producegraduate in all fields, there are strongindications that there are still areas inwhich there are not enough skilledmanpower .. In the field of agriculture forinstasce, ISNA Report indicated that thereis a serious shortage of research scientistsand that we need to readjust our strategytowards producing masters agriculturalgraduates. Other areas such as generalbachelors degree have apparent surpluses.

I would like to suggest that thegeneral approach out of this dilemma is tostrategically produce more graduates thatare needed by the economy in each sectoruntil such a time that we can clearlydiscern the direction of economic growth.It is naive to limit student numbers on a

Insatiable thirst for University

short run absorption model if the model isnot a true reflection cf trends in theeconomy. However the surplus itselfmust be carefully managed.

The area of staff training and staffdevelopment is the other source ofchallenges facing universities. Due toobvious historical reasons, most of ourspecielist are trained in overseas countries.This training is to some extent, irrelevantand on the whole very expensive. Toillustrate how important this is, I willgive an example. Last year a studentreturned from Europe with a Ph.D. insome field in Biochemistry. Weemployed him as a Lecturer andencouraged him to initiate his ownresearch programme. However, we soonfound out that he could not start anyresearch programme as his training hadrelied on extremely sophist.caredequipment which we could not afford tomaintain. His was a case of "Trainedincapacity" to adapt, to relate, to beproductive. He is now in America,unwinding, unlearning!

Whereas it is tempting toprescribe that training, especially for firstand second degrees be done locally, suchan approach is fraught with problems ofinternal capacities of various departmentsbecause of staff maturity and youngdepartments. This leads to a vicious cycleof further staffing incapaci ty. Theapproach may be to insist on local 1st

8 VARSITY FOCUS, JAN/FEB,.1990

VARSITY NEWS

Education: Freshers registering for admission at the University of Nairobi's main campus

degree and to an increasing extent local2nd degrees with options for splitprogrammes. The Ph.D shouldincreasingly be a split Ph.D.

TeachingWith increased number of

students both undergraduate andpostgraduate, access to books and otherinformation materials to support learningteaching and research functions of theuniversities is a vital and worrisomeissue. The task of building strongacademic programmes, especiallyundergraduate programmes at theUniversities will depend on strong self-reliance in preparing relevant texts whichare purposeful, inexpensive and accessible.

Internationally, Universities inthird world countries especially in SouthEast Asia and Latin America, have moved.from dependency on publishing and bookimports based in the west. Owing torealities of shortage of foreign exchange,high cost of imported books the problemof irrelevancy of such books to specificcourses; most Universities in theseregions are attempting to produce allbooks for courses taught themselves.Indeed, in Universities where such astrategy has been followed, it has beenpossible to produce all required teachingmaterials cheaply. The PublicUniversities are currently establishingprinting units which would producequality but affordable reading materials.

We would, however, welcome assistancein this area to complement our efforts.

Mr. Chairman, the provision ofequipment is very expensive andperplexing in any university particularlyin a developing country. Most of therequired equipment such as microscopes,electronic counter-balances, otherlaboratory equipment, surgical,engineering and office equipment need careand replacement.

This problem is compoundedfurther by the ever changing technologyparticularly in the computer industry.Public universities are therefore findingthemselves in difficulties in providing andservicing equipment to support teachingand research programmes. An approachwhere support in training maintenancetechnicians, and setting up maintenanceworkshops is provided, would be useful.

HybridThe social-political environment

is another challenge that our universitiesare facing. As you are undoubtedly awarepublic opinion indicates that universityeducation is given very high priority inour country. Joining the University isnowadays prime consideration for everyfamily. Universities are therefore facing alot of pressure from parents. That societyis always ready to increase spending at theuniversity level is indicative of the highpremium our people attach to UniversityEducation. Universities therefore have no

choice but to live up to peoplesexpectations.

I am certain that you allappreciate that our University system isincreasingly becoming a hybrid of bothEuropean and American systems wherebasically we tend to borrow a lot from theBritish system, the increasing number ofAmerican trained local scholars joining ushas meant that our Universities arcbenefitting from both worlds. Forinstance, we have found the externalexamination system, which is essentiallya British tradition and the Americanaccreditation system extremely useful. Onour part, we have introduced theaccreditation system through theCommission for Higher Education andthrough the Vice-Chancellor's Committeewhich are concerned with such issues asstaff terms of service, recruitment andtraining and academic standards. At theregional level, we are members of theInter-university Council, (IUC), throughwhich we organise joint subject meetingsand debate the - state - of - the art ofvarious academic fields,

EducationThe concept of the 8:4:4 system ofeducation emanated from Mackay Reportof the Presidential Working party on thesecond public university in Kenya.

The Report emphasized practicaleducation with special emphasis onAgriculture and Technology. In

VARSITY FOCUS, JAN/FEB, 1990 9

VARSITY NEWSparticular, it laid special emphasis on theimportance of socio-cultural studies as thebasis for appropriate use of science andtechnology for social and economicdevelopment as well as politicalintegration. The Report further insistedon the orovision of what it called"foundation teaching: for allundergraduates in Cultural andDevelopment Studies in order to enhance"interaction between Arts and Sciencestudents" for their mutual benefits.Accordingly, future leaders of this countryshould understand its developmentstrategies irrespective of their areas ofspecialization.

The third cycle of the 8:4:4system of education, therefore whiledeveloping and transmitting knowledgeand skill through research and training atundergraduate and postgraduate level,should inter alia:

Produce mature conscientiousgraduate with ability and desire tocontribute to thedevelopment of the country.Provide for national service anddevelopment which reflect theNational CulturalHeritage;Foster national consciousness andunity.In order to meet the goals

outlined above, it is desirable to evolvewell through-out courses dealing withissues of development, culture social,

ethics, quantitative (statistical) methods,and communication skills which must befollowedand passed by every 8:4:4 studentduring the course of his studies before anaward of a Bachelor's degree can beeffected. Indeed at its meeting on 4thSeptember, 1987, Senate resolved to setup a board-based Committee to considerthe content, contract hours. examinationprocedure and sylabi for these commoncourses.

The contents of the commoncourses are envisaged to be a broad aspossible so as to expose the 8:4:4students to the various development issuesin the national life of their country, and toequip them with necessary tools to handlesuch issues. This is indeed thephilosophy of the 8:4:4 educationprogramme which strives to equip theyouth with an education that will helpthem respond positively to the challengesof national development and instil in thema sense of national identify, unity, mutualrespect, patriotism and responsibility.The multidisciplinary courses, whichshould be academically sound andintellectually stimulating, are intended tohelp the students in the pursuit of theirspecialised studies with a much broaderbase of understanding of the generalproblems facing their country and thesolutions being advocated in the hope thaton their graduation, they can appreciatetheir own roles and contribution in nationbuilding efforts.

A good deal of effort has beenmade to evolve the common courses underseveral headings:

ta) Development Studies -covering Economics, Ethics, and Law

Environmental Studies,Science and Technology, political

science and governmentsocio-cultural studies, trade and diplomacylanguageand literature,philosophy and history of science.

(b) Communication Skills(c) Computer Science(d) Research MethodologyFor the first time in the history

of University Education in Kenya,Universities will therefore be teachingcourses which lay more emphasis on thepractical aspects. This shift in emphasiscalls for new approaches in the design ofsyllabuses and local data to provoke andsustain students' interest.

These challenges I haveenumerated are not unique to KenyanUniversity System. Our task is thereforeto show increased sensitivity to make ouruniversities strong while at the same timeproducing skilled manpower for oureconomy. The day to day problems ofany Vice-Chancellor in any University inthe world are similar - admissions,examinations, staffing, ethics, financingetc. I have not therefore outlined anythingunique to Kenya.

Thank you