By Dr. Vincent Gaitho, Ph. D
The demand for university education by Kenyans saw unprecedented growth and expansion of both public and private universities. Some of these developments included the introduction of Module 2 programmes in public universities to accommodate self-sponsored students.
The legislation and eventual enactment of the Universities Act 2012 saw universities accreditation brought under the Commission for University Education (CUE) to ensure there is good standard and quality of university training.
Previously, public universities were created by an Act of Parliament while private universities were regulated by the Commission for Higher Education, the precursor of CUE.
Today, all universities in Kenya are accredited and regulated by CUE. The culmination of full-fledged universities is the award of a charter as an instrument of operation and authority to offer accredited training programmes and courses.
The Universities Act 2012 has also led to the creation of the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) whose principle mandate is to coordinate the placement of government sponsored students to Kenyan universities and colleges.
Previously, the government only sponsored students to public universities through the Joint Admissions Board (JAB). However, since 2015, KUCCPS started placing government-sponsored students to private universities. The number of beneficiaries currently stands at over 60,000.
The continued placement of public-sponsored students in private universities is a true testimony that private institutions have a crucial role to play in ensuring continued opportunities for training qualified human capital for national development.
The public sponsored students’ budget is capped at Shs 3.3 billion. In a recent revelation in Parliament, it was revealed that a government sponsored student in a public university receives a capitation of Shs 157,000 compared to Shs 67,000 received by their counterparts in private universities.
Naturally, this debate can be held later after we have listened to the MPs move to amend the Universities Act and abolish continued placement of government sponsored students in private universities for the purposes of ‘avoiding the collapse of public universities.’
A letter from the State Department for University Education and Research dated 4th October 2021 with REF: MHEST/HE/4/36 which was addressed to all Chief Executive Officers of Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs), Vice Chancellors of public universities and principals of constituent colleges confirmed the glaring discrimination in the sector.
The letter, which talked about the 9th batch Masters degree and internship programme of the African Business Education Initiative for Youth (ABE Initiative) and the SDGs Global Leadership Programme sponsored by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was targeted to only public universities.
Such actions expose the sector to the risk of favoritism where one section is given priorities when it comes to engaging and absorbing graduates into the field of work and national development.
The State Department for University Education and Research as the custodian of the sector should not discriminate between public and private universities. The fact that the government sponsors students in both public and private universities is reason enough for it to open up space for all to develop.
Suffice to say, all government-sponsored students should be supported equally devoid of any form of discrimination.
The moment the Universities Fund Board (UFB) puts its house in order and fully implements the Differentiated Unit Cost for universities’ training programme, the better and less noise there will be.
Additionally, when students are given the freedom to select universities to train from and are supported with an open equalized funding system, then universities will effectively strategize to become centres of excellence hinged on their competitive advantages.
The Covid-19 pandemic has opened new frontiers where technology based university is the future. In the comfort of any spatial setting, a future university student will attend classes online, graduate in an online graduation ceremony and perform his/her acquired knowledge and skills online.
Therefore, competitiveness in the university ecosystem is no longer localised and intra-boundary, but global and international. The imagined sibling rivalry between public and private universities in Kenya is therefore outdated and misplaced.
Kenyan institutions must wake up to the reality that the pandemic has caused challenges and opportunities beyond our local catchment. Universities must repackage themselves as destinations for students beyond the borders. It is an opportune time to rebrand Kenya as an education hub so as to target a sizeable portion of international students.
Dr. Vincent Gaitho is the Secretary General, National Association of Private Universities in Kenya (NAPUK), Chairman, Education Sector Board Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the Pro-Chancellor of Mount Kenya University (MKU).
