Private University Expansion In Kenya

Kenya has witnessed a phenomenal growth in university enrollments over the last two decades. This expansion has largely been driven by private higher education providers. These providers include privately owned universities as well as public universities offering non state-subsidized programs. As a result of capped university admissions in the 1980s, public universities, which admitted the largest number of students then, scaled down their admissions significantly. This, combined with a substantive increase in the social demand for higher education increased private university enrollments exponentially. This study thus reviewed the impact that a large private university student body has had on access, equity and the distribution of skills. The monograph reports that whilst private universities have increased access, generally, given the numbers of students enrolled, the new enrollments have been skewed in favor of students from a higher socioeconomic status. The oft reported pattern of male students dominating the science, technology and engineering courses has also endured. The study further recommends a more systematic review of the research question, covering more institutions.

This book addresses the implications of this development in Kenya, with regard to the responsiveness of private higher education to issues of broadening access, equity and the traditional research function of universities.

This book addresses the implications of this development in Kenya, with regard to the responsiveness of private higher education to issues of broadening access, equity and the traditional research function of universities.

The high demand for university education in the 1980s and 1990s led to the increase in the number of universities from one public university college in 1970 to seven public universities in 2007. [...] The enrolment of women in the humanities and social sciences poses a challenge to the achieve- ment of gender equity in higher education in Kenya and other parts of the world (Kimani 2005; Boit and Koskei 2005). [...] In spite of the fact that most courses offered in the private universities are in the humanities and social sciences and the cost of private higher education is high, these universities are providing increased opportunities to Kenyans, espe- cially women and those already in the job market, to benefit from university education. [...] 5.onsongo5-2-2007.pmd 28/07/2008, 17:43124 Onsongo: Gender Equity and the Growth of Private Universities in Kenya 125 The appointment of women to the positions of chancellor, vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor in the private universities implies that women are capa- ble of managing universities. [...] 5.onsongo5-2-2007.pmd 28/07/2008, 17:43126 Onsongo: Gender Equity and the Growth of Private Universities in Kenya 127 The private universities in Kenya are ahead of the public universities in the fact that they are the only ones having women as vice-chancellors.

The significance of the recommendations of the working party for this study is in terms of the pace they set in legalising the development of private higher education in the country (Republic of Kenya 1981) Besides recommending the establishment of a second public university in a rural setting, three other recommendations supported higher education expansion through private resources. [...] The 1990s: The 'take off ' stage of private higher education in Kenya The conditions for the development of private higher education in Kenya evolved in the late-1970s and in the 1980s. [...] The internal trends towards the evolution of private universities were bolstered 2.kenya-edu.pmd 08/08/2008, 16:0126 27The Evolution and Development of Private Higher Education by the growing internationalisation of higher education, and the recognition in inter- national policy environments of the private sector in the provision of elite higher education institutions. [...] The admission of private students to public universities, the commercialisation of academic pro- grammes and the corporate manner in which the programmes are managed constitute the privatisation of public universities in Kenya. [...] The success of the university in terms of enrolments and the projection of its image lies in a balanced articulation of the university's commer- cial objectives and the academic aspirations of its students.

This book examines the concept of the democratization of governance in universities in Kenya with particular emphasis on students involvement in governance processes and decision making. Data were collected from members of the student community utilizing a structured self-administered questionnaire and from purposively selected key informants and focus group discussants drawn from Kenyatta University (representing the public sector) and the United States International University (representing the private sector). The guiding argument for the study was that shared governance, one of the principles of good governance, is critical in enabling the universities to deliver their visions and the missions effectively. The results revealed that while in principle, Kenyan universities have embraced democratic governance in which all stakeholders, including students, have a role to play, in practice they continue to violate the core principles of good governance, particularly shared governance. Specifically, students, who are major stakeholders in university education, are largely excluded from significant structures of governance thereby limiting their influence and participation. Although their representation is mainly provided via student self-governance organs (unions, associations and/or councils), their effectiveness is undermined considerably by the lack of trust and confidencec of the student body and the unending manipulation by top university administrators and external political actors. Student active involvement in decision making is mainly confined to lower levels such as the school/faculty and departmental/programme. The authors call for a paradigm shift in the involvement of students in the governance of universities in ways that discourage the current culture of tokenism and political correctness that characterizes public and private universities in Kenya.

Reviews the history of higher education in Kenya and details the emergence of private universities, most of them with a Christian religious orientation, as major players in the provision of tertiary-level education.