Uncertainty and doom has befallen some university students after the Commission on University Education (CUE) rendered obsolete more than 300 university courses offered in both public and private universities.
In a survey conducted by Elimika Mashinani Trust (EMT) and the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) on phone between June 2 and June 15, 2023 engaging 250 graduate respondents spread across 25 counties; at least 4 in every 10 (40 %) students are affected by such courses which were introduced a long time ago or their job market has since been saturated.
The study also revealed that 8 out of 10 (80%) students who take such courses did not receive any form of career advice either from school or their parents. The priority for such students was to secure any ‘available degree’ certification.
Further, the survey showed that only 20% of public universities link their choice of courses to the market. On the other hand, private universities peg at least 70% of their course offering on employability ratio.
Incidentally, both public and private universities rank very low on actual link with the industry. While public universities scored less than 10%, private universities only had less than 40%.
As a result most of the course offerings at universities, especially public ones, are engaging in what the survey’s 60% respondents call as ‘useless courses’.
The research stated that such courses are costing both the government and parents a collective fortune yet they do not attract interest from the market. They equally offer no skills for the graduates to opt for meaningful self-employment.
Of the participants, 60% blame the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) for listing ‘stale’ courses while 30% blamed CUE and the remaining 10% blamed students for falling for ‘any available’ degree course.
Among the courses blacklisted by the CUE include;
Bachelor of Arts in Kiswahili & Geography; Bachelor of Engineering Physics; Bachelor of Science in Ecotourism; Bachelor of Science in Mining Physics; Bachelor of Arts in Technical and Professional Communication; Bachelor of Science in Management in Mathematics; Bachelor of Arts in Monitoring and Evaluation; Bachelor of Science in Applied Aquatics Sciences Bachelor of Science (General); Bachelor of Science(Chemistry); Bachelor of Science (Mathematics); Bachelor of Arts in Political Science; Bachelor of Education in Home Science and Bachelor of Science in Agronomy among others.
By Vostine Ratemo
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