Why universities must produce thinkers, not just job seekers

In the late 1980s, one of the pioneer students at Egerton University, who had been admitted to study for a Bachelor's degree in Economics, told me something that has remained in my mind.

The student had been admitted to the university after sitting for the then Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (KACE) at A-level.

The university administration asked the students to register for two other academic disciplines offered at the institution.

Mr Zablon Khisa, who later joined the Public Service as a film officer in the Department of Film Services, told me that he registered for Sociology and another discipline that I cannot now remember.

The thinking of the University Senate was that Economics was part and parcel of a general degree course. Such a course, or an undergraduate degree, must necessarily have multidisciplinary breadth to enable students to develop a broader perspective on issues.

The critical thinking and problem-solving skills that undergraduate courses seek to cultivate in students can be creatively and imaginatively applied by those with multidisciplinary knowledge.

Ideally, students should be required to study a maximum of three academic disciplines in their first year and proceed with either one or two of them in their second and third years.

The choice of subjects to pursue should depend on demonstrated ability and interest.

The Senate's decision at Egerton University was consistent with standard practice in Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree courses at the University of Nairobi in the 1980s.

Students admitted to study either BA or BSc were required to study three disciplines in their first year. They could then narrow their studies to two disciplines in the second year and one in the third year, depending on their academic performance, interests and career aspirations.

Underlying the organisation of undergraduate programmes in world-class universities are two fundamental principles: breadth and depth.

University education serves many purposes. One of the leading purposes of higher education is to prepare students for careers and professions.

However, university education also exists to help students become better citizens, deeper thinkers and more morally responsible individuals.

Preparing them for careers alone undermines their potential as thinking citizens, community leaders and problem-solvers in society.

This is why policymakers and educators in countries such as the United States expect students to master one disciplinary area while gaining broad exposure to other fields of knowledge.

Such exposure helps students, during and after university, develop the ability to discern which questions should be raised and answered when society faces challenges or when yesterday's answers can no longer adequately address today's or tomorrow's problems.

“In a society that depends critically upon expert knowledge, one kind of valuable education is a curriculum shaped by the research mission of a great university. Such a curriculum should demand that undergraduates learn one scholarly discipline in depth, expose them to other disciplines, give them opportunities to participate in research, and immerse them in an environment where they encounter the quest for knowledge often and in many forms.”

These observations were attributed to Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber in a lecture at the University of California, Berkeley, titled *The American University in Crisis*, on February 26, 2026.

Regardless of the academic and professional courses universities offer, they must have a rigorous core curriculum for all students.

The core curriculum, commonly referred to here as common courses or common units, should provide all students, regardless of their majors, career goals and degree specialisations, with a variety of perspectives on universal issues.

These courses should expose students to wide-ranging perspectives while strengthening their critical and creative thinking skills.

World-class universities such as Columbia University, Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) place considerable emphasis on broad-based undergraduate learning, although their approaches to common curricula differ.

We have similar courses, which we call common units, but they do not always demonstrate the rigour and coherence associated with well-structured general education programmes in leading American universities.

Undergraduate education is the heartbeat of university education.

For many students, it is their final stage of formal higher education before entering employment or other professional pursuits.

Society looks to these graduates to govern institutions, shape policy and influence opinion wherever they work and live.

Although career preparation is critical, it should not overshadow or supplant the other higher purposes of university education.

Universities can have strong curricula and, at the same time, prepare students for careers.

In fact, many of the skills required for entry-level jobs could be imparted within a relatively short period if students entered university with a strong secondary education foundation.

However, university education must aim higher than simply preparing graduates for their first jobs.