Universities offering Outdated courses, Cofek survey
According to a recent study by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek), many of the degree programmes that the nation’s universities are offering are useless.
According to the report, the majority of them are provided by public colleges. The investigation revealed that although “more than 300 courses approved by the Commission on University Education (CUE) either attract nil or few students, they have all never used or underutilised lecturers.”
It also states that 40% of university students, or at least 4 out of every 10, are impacted by such courses that were implemented decades ago or whose labour markets have since become overly crowded.
The survey was carried out by Cofek and the Elimika Mashinani Trust. The results of this phone interview poll, which was performed between June 2 and June 15, were made public on July 3. 250 graduates who lived in 25 different counties participated in the study.
It also showed that 8 out of 10 students enrolled in these courses did not receive any career guidance from their parents or the school. Such students prioritise obtaining any type of “available degree” certification.
Such programmes are quite expensive for the government and parents as a whole, but the market is not interested in them. The final report states, in part, that they “equally offer no skills for the graduates to choose for meaningful self-employment.”
60% of respondents blame the Kenya Universities Placement Service, 30% the CUE, and 10% the students for choosing “any available” degree course from the admissions menu of “stale” courses.
Also Read:Â Egerton University Scraps 5 Degrees, Sacks Lecturers
The Bachelor of Arts in Japanese, the Bachelor of Arts (History), the Bachelor of Arts (Kiswahili), the Bachelor of Arts (Cultural Studies), the Bachelor of Science in Earth Science, and the Bachelor of Science in Zoology are a few of the programmes mentioned in the research.
Others include the Bachelor of Arts in Church Music and Theology, the Bachelor of Music Theory and Composition, the Bachelor of Science in Sugar Technology, the Bachelor of Science in Forestry, the Bachelor of Science in Events and Convention Management, and the Bachelor of Range Management.
Only 20% of public colleges link their course selection to the market, according to the poll. Private universities, on the other hand, base at least 70% of their degree offerings on employability.
However, when it comes to genuine links with the industry, both public and private institutions perform very poorly. Private institutions only received less than 40%, while public universities received less than 10%.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua issued a warning a few days ago that the government did not have work options for recent graduates.
At the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology’s graduation ceremony on June 30, Gachagua said the graduates would gain from the Housing Fund’s creation of jobs.
Gachagua declared, “I’m an honest man, and I don’t want to sit here and tell you that we have jobs for you, these jobs we’re going to create with you.
Gachagua exhorted students to approach whatever they do with optimism.
“You are ten times better than your parents,” he continued. “Your parents were not hired by anybody, 70% of them, but by hard effort, creative and imaginative thinking they have seen you through to university.
Eight degree programmes that the university management claimed weren’t drawing in students were going to be discontinued, according to an announcement made by Egerton University in February.
Industrial technology, civil engineering technology, soil, environment, and land use management, as well as dairy technology and management, were the affected courses.
Other affected courses included Integrated Forest Resource Management, Dairy Land Resources Management, Wildlife Management and Enterprise, and Applied Aquatic Science.
Universities offering Outdated courses, Cofek survey
