Public universities in Kenya play a vital role in training and development of human capital. The roles are played in the following manner:
- The universities in Kenya provide education and training within a structure that combines research and teaching.
- They offer professional training fields such as Medicine, Engineering, Architecture, Law and Teaching
- They operate as research center where they conduct research in a broad range of disciplines.
- They play a key role in enhancing regional and international integration through collaborations and joint research with other foreign universities.
- The universities play a key role in fostering the intellectual growth of the society and enhancing social development.
Despite this critical roles played by the public universities in Kenya, they have been bedeviled by short comings and problems that make them not the best institutions of higher learning in the world. Some of this shortcomings include, but not limited to:
- The nature of training offered by public universities in Kenya does not produce the high cadre human resources that are required by the modern economy. The universities in Kenya, both public and private have been accused of working in isolation from the economic sector they are supposed to serve. This has been occasioned by products that are often times found wanting in key skills.
- The teaching staffs have been inadequate. This has been occasioned by flight of the best brains to more developed countries where the rewards are much higher as compared to local teaching rewards. These staff members were engaged in various duties that included teaching, research, evaluation of programs and running their own businesses without approval from the university administration, as is normally required. This has resulted in a situation where teaching staff devote little attention to research or improving their teaching, and play little or no role in the life of the institution employing them.
- There has been rapid increase in the number of people seeking higher education in Kenya. This has resulted in the overuse and overstretching on the facilities available at public universities in Kenya thereby compromising on the quality of research and teaching. Rote learning is common, with instructors doing no more than dictating their notes to overcrowded classes.
- The university examination system has also come under sharp criticism. First the system is prone to cheating. Secondly, the testing system does not adequately cover on practical aspect and students pass exams though they lack in practical know-how. “This has led to paper qualification syndrome” where students posses papers showing they qualified in a certain field but lack even the basic skills of the field.
- The university education system is also isolated from the society. A meaningful modern education system should stimulate all aspects of human intellectual potential. It should not simply emphasize access to knowledge, but also uphold the richness of local cultures and values, supported by the valuable disciplines of the humanities and social sciences, including philosophy, literature and the arts.
Click on a university for more details.
- Egerton University
- Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
- Kenyatta University
- Maseno University
- Masinde Muliro University
- Moi University
- University of Nairobi
- Chuka University College
- Kabianga University College
- Kenya Polytechnic University College
- Kimathi University College of Technology
- Kisii University College
- Laikipia University - Egerton
- Meru University College of Science and Technology (MUCST)
- Mombasa Polytechnic University College
- Multimedia University College of Kenya
- Narok University College
- Pwani University College
- South Eastern University College