By Priscillar Mutisya
The Ministry of Education in attempt to reduce the uneconomical multiplication of degrees is likely to scrap off Business Administration, Education and Journalism degrees.
According to a report presented to the Parliamentary Committee by Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha earlier this month, Business Administration is taught in 67 Universities in the country. This means that only seven universities do not teach the course. Journalism on the other hand is taught in 66 universities while Education is offered in 55 institutions.
The report further suggests that duplication of teaching areas has resulted to inadequate academic staff and poor demand for graduates in these courses. The report endorses specialization in teaching and research in specific fields in order to keep the dominant fields relevant. The report also indicates that it’s only Law and Engineering courses that have not been affected by duplication making them equally competitive.
In March this year, CS Magoha recommended that Universities shed off some programs as part of addressing the duplication menace. The reforms were to be done in 90 days and this role was delegated to the regulator Commission for University Education.
CUE is however yet to issue a directive on how to clean up the mess. CUE recommends that the Long suffering Public Universities will in the next few months be expected to implement the shed off process that will see reduced entrants and job losses.
Egerton University is on the spotlight as a victim of duplication. The institution is said to have started well as an agricultural institution before diversifying to all manner of degrees. The report also indicates that agricultural courses such as animal health, agricultural economics and food science have experienced duplication with at least 40 universities teaching them.
The shed off plan is not only going to affect the three courses but also some courses under health. Prestigious courses that have previously attracted some of the best performers such as Actuarial science and Computer Science are also on the spot and are not safe from the ministry’s shed off plan. Government data indicates that duplicated courses account for about 82 percent of students who graduate from various universities each year. The scrap off is necessary to ensure the courses undertaken in University are competitive.
