Kenyan universities to be merged based on specializations
If the proposals of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms are put into action, the Public Service Commission (PSC) will no longer be responsible for hiring the academic and administrative leaders of institutions.
According to the taskforce chaired by Prof. Raphael Munavu, many colleges do poorly because the hiring process lacks credibility and is frequently tainted by political meddling and racial bias rather than merit.
To improve performance in research and innovation, the panel also suggested university mergers based on specializations.
The first group of students enrolled in the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), who began junior high school in 2023, is anticipated to start college in 2029.
According to the study by the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms, 60% of students would enrol in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses after CBC is fully implemented; 25% will enrol in humanities courses; and 15% will enrol in creative studies.
Therefore, it is expected that universities will sufficiently get ready for this change.The taskforce wants universities to retool all academic staff to implement the Competency Based Curriculum education system, the Commission for University Education (CUE) to lead the development of the University Competency-Based Curriculum Framework (UCBCF), and universities to review their Bachelor of Education degree programme to align with the CBC by the start of the 2023/2024 academic year.
There are currently 78 universities and university institutions in Kenya, 42 of which are public and 36 private, according to the Commission for University Education.
Even while the number of universities in Kenya that are among the top 100 in Africa has increased, the taskforce’s study notes that only a small fraction of them are among the top 20.
Kenyan colleges frequently perform below their potential, which hurts the nation’s standing in the world for research and scientific advancement.
The taskforce blames issues like weak governance systems, low productivity in research and innovation, and insufficient funding for universities’ subpar performance.
Concerning governance, the research raises issues with the recruitment of academic and administrative presidents of universities, which is frequently tainted by racial bias and political intervention rather than merit.
Kenyan universities to be merged based on specializations
Currently, following a competitive hiring procedure run by the Public Service Commission, councils in conjunction with the Cabinet Secretary appoint the Vice-Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Principals, and Deputy Principals of constituent colleges for public universities.
However, the taskforce advises against continuing PSC’s involvement in the appointment and in favour of giving universities the freedom to conduct internal hiring through the university council.
The group also favours competitive appointments over elections for deans of schools and faculties. According to the taskforce, this will necessitate changing the Universities Act of 2012.
The taskforce emphasised the importance of creating alliances between universities and merging universities in line with specialisation to further address the need to improve performance in research and innovation.
Practically speaking, this means that universities with poor performance will merge with those with strong performance in order to strengthen their capabilities and perform as one.
The concept might be difficult to sell, particularly in light of the fact that the majority of universities will prefer to operate autonomously
