COUNTRY REPORT : KENYA



COUNTRY REPORT: KENYA

by

Margret Schermutzki

Pieter Boele van Hensbroek

1. Introduction

Kenya is one of the most populous and economically strongest countries in the East African region. In economic and institutional terms, it has gone through a gradual progressive development since independence. In political terms it has experienced some radical transformations of which the democratic transition in 2002 and the recent adoption of a new constitution stand out. A major challenge results from the social situation, as, despite riches and progress, half of the population lives below the poverty line. Within the international context, Kenya is a self-conscious actor, and plays a leading role in the development of the East African community and the African Union.

1.1 Policies in the Higher Education

The Kenyan educational system is well developed, with the University of Nairobi (UON) standing out as the oldest and most reputed institution of higher education and research. In many fields Kenyan graduates can link well into study tracks in Europe or America. Staff of other Kenyan universities often received their training at UON, which leads to similar approaches concerning structural and disciplinary issues in Higher Education in the country.

Public Universities own a large degree of autonomy – each is established by an act of parliament – thus they act according to their own developed policies and mechanisms approved by their councils and dictated by their mandates stipulated in the Acts (Universities Act Cap 210 B). Hence they are able to operate in first place as individual actors in the academic market, tending to the educational demands of students.

The sector of private higher education is well-developed and expanding because demand for higher education exceeds supply in the public sector. To ensure quality in private universities accreditation and re-audits of programmes and institutions are undertaken by the Commission for Higher Education (CHE). From the national point of view, expressed by the Ministry of Higher Education, the major challenges for the HE sector concern increased relevance and efficiency of education programmes, and expansion in order to facilitate increased student intake. Thus, HE administration structures and institutions are strengthened in order to harmonize structures and systems, introduce quality control and accreditation, and increase societal relevance of the sector. A HE draft bill has been submitted to parliament. It can be expected that the role of CHE will increase in importance. A special aspect of HE in Kenya is the rapid integration of the East African Community, which now includes next to the traditional partners (Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya) also Rwanda and Burundi. In this integration process, the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) plays a central role, guided and supported by the Ministries of Education in the region. This process is being synchronized with continental initiatives, such as the Conference of Ministers of Education of the African Union (COMEDAF), the Association of African Universities (AAU) and the African Union (AU). It is foreseen that the center of excellence for East Africa under the Pan-African University initiative of the AU will be located in Kenya.

1.1.1 Education system in Kenya

The Kenyan Education system emulates the American model 8-4-4; primary education (8 yrs), secondary education (4 yrs) and 4 years for the first cycle of Higher Education with an undergraduate degree, the Bachelor. Other HE degrees are also awarded, namely certificates and Diplomas. The second cycle ends of after 2 years with a Master and the third one with a PhD, which lasts 3 years in full-time. High school graduates qualify for higher education, which comprises of colleges and universities. It is estimated that the country has 123.000 university students. Notwithstanding the expansion in the past several years the HE sectors is still limited and only 3 % of the university aged cohort are enrolled in University education.

The academic market is shared by 7 traditional public universities, 13 newly established university colleges and 24 private universities. Two of the higher education institutes just offer diploma degrees. Kenya also has a number of public middle level colleges that offer diplomas in certain fields including engineering, education and computer science, taught in English.

Kenya is facing a soaring demand for higher education as more students seek to improve their opportunities in the labor market. Over the past five years, the number of enrolments has been rising by at least 40% annually. According to the government's Economic Survey 2010, the number of students in public universities was 143,000 in 2009 - up from 101,000 the previous year. Approximately 80 % of students are enrolled in public universities. Currently government-sponsored students are enrolled only at the public universities, whose capacity is constrained by the rising number of higher education applicants.

The existing backlog involves a waiting time of two years after school leaving certificate, before being admitted to government-sponsored university programmes. By contrast students who can afford self-sponsored courses or private higher education can enroll in the same year. In 2007: 276.000 students took the entrance examination (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE)), 82.000 which were deemed officially qualified for university admission, only 10.000 were selected for government sponsorship, another 10.000 entered on self-paying basis and 5.000 entered the private sector, leaving 57.000 students not entering higher education.

About half of the students registered in public universities are financed by government on the basis of a scholarship system. The others are self-sponsoring students. The criteria for intake of these students are fixed by the institutions themselves. The additional income helps increasing the autonomy of the institutions, thus giving them the space to innovate and react to market needs. At the same time, it may strengthen an attitude of focusing upon the student market rather than upon the labor market and socially necessary skills and knowledge. Funding has trailed far behind enrolment growth in public universities, compromising quality as infrastructure remained inadequate and the number of lectures not grow in tandem.

According to CHE Kenya has established 13 new constituted colleges attached to a state university. Kenya Polytechnic University College, a college of the University of Nairobi was visited by the expert team. Private universities admit only a quarter of the country’s higher education students. To help to ease the admissions crises, there are plans to use private institutions to admit government-sponsored students. Substantial incentives like tax reduction, cheap finance and elimination of work permit fees for international faculty/staff could encourage private universities to expand (Interview Freida Brown, Vice-chancellor of the United States International University).The need to establish new, additional educational institutions provides a challenge in terms of increased quantity and quality of teaching and institutions capacity, as well as programme content. Further pressing issues include the issue of bench-marking minimal standards and differential profiling of the different institutions in terms of their focus. This requires existing institutions to interlink and assist in this process. The Ministry confirmed that Tuning could be considered as a methodology to guide this process towards new, good and relevant HE institutions.

The legal status renders each university independent. The president of Kenya appoints the chancellors, vice-chancellors, deputy vice-chancellors and the chairs of the university council. Elected representatives act for staff and students in the university councils. University councils are charged with the responsibility of policy formulation, creation of faculties and departments, and approval of the appointment of university staff. The university senate is responsible to the council for academic affairs, financial, and administrative management of the university. Senates are presided over by vice-chancellors and are include heads of departments who are potential vice-chancellors. Below the senate, faculty boards and departments oversee instruction and also administer examinations.

In developing their policies, public universities have to take into consideration the CHE guidelines and standards (admission criteria, curriculum design, infrastructural development and student support system.) In response to the growing demand, the government is determined to develop a new policy and there is a need for a new legal framework and new guidelines for different actors.[1]

1.1.2 The role of Commission of Higher Education (CHE) [2]

The Commission for Higher Education CHE has a legal mandate by an Act of Parliament (Cap. 210 B – 1985) and is responsible for quality assurance and enhancement. It provides detailed rules, standards and guidelines for private and public higher education institutions on how to establish a new institution, degree or study programme and how to assure quality of already chartered ones. It is responsible for the accreditation process and reappraises the institutions every five years with a self-assessment questionnaire, which has to be filled out by each institution and has to show the enhancement of quality. This questionnaire also exists for single departments. There also has to be a report written by the Rector/ Vice-Chancellor which gives an overview of the activities and directions of the institution in the last 5 years and has to include reporting on a list of points given by CHE.

The role of CHE encompasses three main purposes of Quality Assurance in HE, namely:

- Quality Control: ensuring adherence to minimum standards,

- Quality Improvement: enhancing quality,

- Accountability: creation of accountability and public assurance

But there is a lack of harmonization between the different public university Acts and the CHE Act. As a result, CHE faces difficulties in extending the quality service to public universities. The development of the new legal national framework and a new bill may include giving the CHE a full mandate as a quality agency for all Higher Institutes.

1.1.3 Establishment of a National Qualifications Framework in Kenya

A national qualification framework for lifelong learning is under development including HE-sector; this process is at an advanced stage. A single legal framework is planned to include all universities as per the new University Bill. The framework consists of 10 levels, related to age/years and describes knowledge, skills and competences.

1.2 Curriculum development

Study programmes at public universities are approved by the senate of the universities. When the Bologna process in Europe started, some aspects in the curriculum development were taken over by universities without really understanding them. According to the discussions with the ministry, Kenya’s universities excel in research but graduates require more practical experiences. In the past, government asked the universities to create reference points for subject areas including generic and subject related competences. This could even been done together with other East African countries. An analysis of generic competences for Africa would be very helpful for Kenya too. Some experience with analysing generic competences have been gained already through analysing newspaper job advertisements.

A methodology for designing study programmes has been developed by CHE as a part of the quality handbook “A Roadmap to Quality” with the Inter-University Council for East Africa[3]. It includes design and re-design of study programmes, stakeholder involvement, profile of the study programme (in competences) learning outcomes, structure (modularisation and credits), teaching, learning and assessment methods, and a quality-system and how to demonstrate results. For example, the development of a study programme in agriculture for some universities in the East African region was based on this handbook.

For instance, the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, Nairobi University, aims at being the leading and vibrant centre of excellence in Kenya and in East Africa. As the faculty is the most important in the area, many of its students have become teachers at the growing number of universities offering agricultural programmes. Due to this fact, the university developed a large network in East Africa. Many of the universities adopted the core elements into their bachelor degrees. Different profiles also at bachelor level but especially at master level were discussed and agreed upon between the networking universities. Specialisations (e.g. fishing and forestry science) are complementary between members of the East African network.

The described subject area agriculture and the institution itself could very well be part of a pilot project. The department of Education, Administration and Planning of Nairobi University could support a pilot as it is specialised in Education Development, Curriculum Development, Educational Administration, Educational Planning on Bachelor level, Economics of Education, Curriculum Studies and Education specialization in Education in Emergencies on Master level. The Department of Educational Communication and Technology focuses on instruction including pedagogy and teaching practice. The department would be well prepared to support a TUNING Process either for the area of Education or as supporting a different subject area (like agriculture or engineering) to undertake a feasibility study on Tuning and to take of coordinating roles.

The ministry is interested in supporting a Tuning project to obtain more information on the required generic and subject related competences. A comparative system of study programmes and the elaboration of subject related reference point could substantially support the harmonization process in Kenya and in East Africa.

1.2.1 Approach to employability

A number of university level programmes are accredited by relevant professional bodies (e.g. of architects, engineers, lawyers). With HE institutions looking primarily at the student market, employability after graduation needs special attention. Several mechanisms are in place, such as employers’ representatives’ participation at various Councils and Boards.

Some public and private universities have an active alumni policy, for instance to stimulate alumni to employ new graduates from their Alma Mater. Systematic assessments of the requirements of the labor market are not that easily made, the main reason for which is the rapid increase of unemployed HE graduates.

In order to prepare graduates for the challenging market demands (flexibility, lifelong learning) more surveys should be done on the market needs as well as on the necessary skills for self-employment to be included in the training.

Awareness of the continuous updating of curricula is fundamental as is the establishment of continuous dialogue on curriculum design and re-design between graduates, employers and university teachers.

1.2.2 Resources and facilities

The system of funding universities has been described above. However, raising the number of students as a source of income goes hand in hand with an increase in the demand of resources and facilities such as teachers’ positions, laboratories, libraries, etc. and thus results in a negative effect on finances. Moreover, students-centered learning and teaching methods become problematic because of the increasing numbers of students. University teachers sometimes prefer the “old” input oriented system, however, the university community in Nairobi has the facilities to use information and communication technology for learning, teaching and management of the university.

1.2.3 Profile, Learning outcomes, Learning, Teaching and Assessment

Study programmes are described in competences and learning outcomes.

Training is offered to university teachers through the QA department of the university and through the curriculum developers (as in Nairobi University’s Faculty of Education) at the university and by CHE. A Tuning process could support further training programmes.

1.2.4 Use of credits

Credits are based on contact hours. They vary from university to university. Recognition of courses elsewhere is therefore problematic.

1.2.5 Availability of databases for contacting current students, graduates and employers

Alumni data bases are a valuable source of information and in use at private universities and also partly at public universities. The ministry is building up a collection of data on graduates’ employments. Data on employers are available through representatives of industry.

As for educational research, research in educational sciences is well-developed in the School of Education UON, in Kenyatta and Moi universities. A graduate tracer studies project by INCHER in Germany could be supportive as well.

1.3 Quality assurance and enhancement

The main players in QA are the ministries, the professional bodies, the Commission for Higher Education (CHE) and the universities. Public HEIs are seeking and acquiring ISO certification but quality management as a whole needs to be inquired into with regard to sustainability. Private higher education institutions have to undergo an accreditation procedure done by CHE.

Quality assurance is also under review in Kenya. In fact there are well-developed quality assurance mechanisms in place through the CHE but most of the public universities use the old system through societal stakeholders commissions and international external examiners per discipline who assess the exams and comment upon the programmes annually. Some institutions aim at bench-marking their programmes with top universities in the US and Europe. Improved quality assurance mechanisms would probably complement the peer review aspect with mechanisms to assess actual achievement by students of learning outcomes per study programme as it is developed in the Roadmap of Quality and is used for accreditation of private Universities through CHE in Kenya.

1.3.1 East African Community integration

The East African Community, especially the treaty on labor mobility, gives a major push to processes of harmonization of HE in the region. The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) is a regional inter-governmental organization established in 1980 by the three East African Partner States (Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) with the aim of facilitating contact between the universities of East Africa, providing a forum for discussion on a wide range of academic and other matters relating to higher education, and helping maintain high and comparable academic standards. The IUCEA exists to facilitate, coordinate and promote sustainable and competitive development of universities in the region by responding to the challenges facing higher education, and helping universities to contribute to meeting national and regional.

Inter-University Council for East Africa has been involved in a major project on synchronizing and boosting quality assurance capacities in HE in the EA community (see below). In order to expand on such harmonization, the IUCEA expressed a strong interest in Tuning, because Tuning introduces a broader agenda than quality assurance only and it involves a collegial and collaborative methodology that fits the IUCEA approach well. IUCEA is collaborating not only with East Africa but also with many European institutions.

The national, regulatory agency of Kenya (CHE) in collaboration with the relevant institutions in Tanzania (TCU) and Uganda (NCHE), the Inter University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) and the German DAAD together with the German Rectors Conference and the University of Oldenburg has developed and piloted an East African QA framework. A handbook including a diagnostic model for internal and external assessment was prepared. Staff was trained as quality officers. In order to harmonized and streamline accreditation and quality assurance in the three East African countries, the regulatory agencies signed an agreement. The agencies work closely together within the framework of the IUCEA which includes the private and the public sector.[4]

The development of subject related reference point is also on the agenda.

The Ministry of Higher Education as well as management of private universities and several Deans expressed an interest in Tuning to cooperate at the East African level.

It may be expected that the Ministry will gradually increase its pressure on public universities regarding both quality and efficiency. Because of an abundance of student interest for HE programmes the institutions themselves fail to always recognize the need to adjust, but high drop-out rates in some fields and societal need for more innovative and practice-related programmes demand a review of programmes, teaching methods and a stronger focus on learning outcomes. Here again Tuning may be of specific relevance because of its bottom-up methodology rendering the academics the key architects of curricular innovation. The Kenyan tradition of autonomy of institutions can then be matched with the strong urge of government for change and relevance. Without reverting to top-down approaches, or application of crude financial incentives to revert a certain inward looking orientation, still a lively process of educational innovation involving all stakeholders may be started under Tuning.

2. Internationalization

Internationalisation has a long tradition in Kenya through, for example, research, staff exchange, students’ exchange, developing joint curricula, both at public as well as at private institutions.

2.1 Recognition of degrees

Recognition is done by a committee of the CHE, according to a list of developed criteria (e.g. accreditation of the university/study programme).

3. Conclusions and suggestions for a TUNING Initiative Kenya

3.1 General policy relevance

The HE landscape in Kenya is well-established and generally well-developed. However, a number of developments call for changes, such as the regional integration in East Africa and the need to ‘democratise’ HE in terms of increased intake of students and increased societal relevance of educational programmes. Strengthening of the governance infrastructure of HE sector will probably somewhat reduce institutional autonomy in the years to come, but it may increase the relevance, efficiency and international comparability of the system. Integration of the system in the East African Community and the Pan-African context provides challenging opportunities. The Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology indicated that Kenya will definitely like to play a front-runner role in these processes. The Ministry could see definitive advantages in harnessing a possible Tuning exercise to face those challenges. This initial positive attitude to Tuning relates to its potential for enhancing processes of change within Kenyan HE and to its potential for furthering East African collaboration.

3.2 Quality

As for intra-Kenyan policies, Tuning could be relevant for the planned expansion of the quality assurance and accreditation infrastructure as well as support CHE and its striving for a system of quality enhancement. The Tuning approach brings together academics, graduates, employers and students to find consensus on generic and subject-specific competences for a study programme and to explore the shared basic set of courses for a programme, while leaving space for added individual courses thus honing the profiling of each institution. That way, Tuning could serve accreditation and quality assurance policies in the Kenyan situation and perhaps even at East African level.

3.3 Relevance

The Tuning approach can also be relevant for reassessing programmes with regard to the competences which students acquire to be able to play a constructive role in society. The Ministry and several of the deans interviewed acknowledged the potential relevance of Tuning. However, other deans suggested that the present international and national bench-marking of their programmes works quite well. The University of Nairobi as well as the Kenya Polytechnic (the two key institutions visited for the feasibility study) are both in the, to some degree, special situation of being excellently positioned at present, physically, materially and in terms of national / international status. The urge to change and renew will spring more likely from other institutions or from separate colleges and faculties feeling the urge to reassess their role.

3.4 Expansion of programmes and institutions

In several fields, such as polytechnic level training, the Kenyan policy aims to considerably expand the present number of institutions. This process can be accompanied by a collaborative review and innovation of curricula. The Ministry and Kenya Polytechnic underscored the importance of this exercise, which could be conducted using Tuning methodology.

Similarly, one of the most innovative faculties in terms of relevance of educational programmes and international collaboration is the Faculty of Agriculture UoN. The faculty is, among others, involved in an East African network where different East African institutions focus on different specialization in post-graduate education, based on a similar curriculum on Bachelor level. UoN covers a specialization in Dry Land Resource Management. The faculty sees Tuning as a possible path to deepen its periodical curriculum review process, especially to sharpen the definitions of the ‘soft skills’, the generic competences and the subject-specific competences at which specific programmes aim.

3.5 Regional integration

Given the rapid regional integration in the East African Union, the challenges of creating comparability of programmes, synchronization of credit systems, mutual recognition of degrees, and development of joint programmes are obvious. A number of processes are already under way (e.g. Qualification Framework, collaborations in Quality Assurance, joint programmes). All actors interviewed, including the IUCEA, were interested to explore the potentials of the Tuning methodology and the language of tuning, which describes education in terms of competences and learning outcomes, as a vehicle for further regional integration exercises.

3.6 Material and organization conditions

For a possible Tuning exercise in Kenya several preconditions seem to be in place. Positive interest from the appropriate ministry (interest of the University/Polytechnic leadership could not be confirmed during the feasibility study), a quality institution at the center of HE renewal - the Commission for Higher Education CHE, and possible support in terms of educational research from the UON School of Education. Thus a solid political and institutional framing of Tuning as well as necessary academic support is possible. It can be expected that in selected faculties and institutions academic staff will be very interested to participate. Given the need for staff to engage in income raising activities and based on the fact that considerable time for those involved in Tuning projects is to be invested, it is expected that a participation fee of fifty euro per working day will have to be budgeted.

Possible topics for TUNING pilot:

▪ East African regional programme on elaborating and synchronizing quality assurance including structure of development of study programmes, learning outcomes, teaching and learning and assessment methods, modularization and credit systems which can both create comparability of programmes thus facilitating exchange of students and staff, and include a measure for the specific societal outcome (skills, competences, knowledge).

▪ Regionally linked MA in Basic and Engineering Sciences to link in with the Pan-African University excellence hub in these fields, which is focused upon doctoral studies.

▪ Joint elaboration in the sector (including new institutions) of curricula at Polytechnic level in Technical disciplines (Diploma and BA levels).

▪ Joint review in a regional context of programmes in Agricultural Sciences in terms of practice-relevant competences, core elements of study programmes describing profiles, learning outcomes and the teaching, learning and assessment methods as well as credits related to them.

▪ Integration of language competences and overcoming linguistic barriers as part of Academic and Polytechnic programmes.

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[1] Ministry of education, science and technology, sessional paper No.1 of 2005 on “A policy framework for Education, Training and Research”, p 99

[2] Presentation Florence Lenga, commission for higher education, Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Kenya: the rule of the commission of higher education

[3] A Road Map to Quality,Handbook for Quality Assurance,The Inter-University Council for East Africa

[4] see „A road map to quality, Handbook for Quality assurance in Higher Education

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