Under new reforms, universities will stop offering unappealing courses.
Following the decision by Vice Chancellors William Ruto and President William Ruto to discontinue student-unattractive programs, public universities may have to fire thousands of employees.
According to The Standard, decisions were made at the meeting on Tuesday at State House in Nairobi to discontinue academic programs at certain universities and transfer others to establishments that have a strong specialty in such subjects.
This has the effect of impending reorganization, which may lead to employment losses as Ruto starts putting his reform plan into action, which would result in university downsizing.
The proposal is similar to one made in 2018 by the late George Magoha, the former secretary of the Education Cabinet, who called for closing some universities and merging others in order to reduce the number of non-responsive courses.
Universities and the State Department of Higher Education have been entrusted with identifying courses that are empty and consolidating others as part of the new reform program.
Universities will then start to specialize, focusing on teaching courses in particular subjects as a result of this.
In the 2023 university placement, less than 10 students were enrolled in over 100 courses, according to data from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service.
Thus, in the course of the intended reforms, some of the programs may be discontinued.
Food Security, Dryland Agriculture, Horticulture, Soil Science, Forestry, Geophysics and Mineralogy, Aquaculture and Fisheries Technology, and Environmental Chemistry are among the courses offered.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Bachelor of Science Networks and Communication Systems, Bachelor of Industrial Technology, Water Resource and Environmental Management, Environmental Resource Management, Library and Knowledge Management, and Bachelor of Arts Chaplaincy are other courses that only one student nationwide placed in.
Changes to student finance under the departing university funding model were also discussed during the State House meeting.
Up to 80% of student fees were covered by the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model, with the remaining 20% being paid for by the students themselves.
But the finance approach has faced many difficulties, such as inadequate government support.
The Ministry of Education claims that because the government only pays for 42% of the DUC, the institutions are left with a 38% gap.
President Ruto reportedly promised to raise the allotment to 50% during the meeting, though.
The President ordered venture capital firms to devise strategies to entice learners to sign up for classes that have the potential to take Kenya to the next level.
Under new reforms, universities will stop offering unappealing courses.
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