University enrolments drop as fewer qualify for entry

University enrolment in Kenya is declining, according to official figures, as more students fail to attain university entry grades and the university satellite campuses that fail to meet accreditation requirements are shuttered.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), university enrolment in the 2018-19 academic year is expected to drop by about 2% to 513,182 students from 522,059 in the previous academic year.

In its report, Economic Survey 2019, released on 26 April, KNBS indicated that the number of students eligible for university entrance had been dropping since 2016 when the government initiated tougher measures to curb examination cheating in schools.

In the 2016-17 academic year, total enrolment in Kenyan universities was expected to reach a record high of over 564,000 students, while in reality enrolment increased only marginally from 501,613 the previous year to 537,689.

Whereas 170,000 learners qualified for university entrance in 2015, only 69,000 attained minimum university entry grades in 2017. A similar trend was recorded in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination results whereby 90,775 students, representing 13.7% of the total candidature of 660,204, qualified for university entrance.

Closure of teaching sites

According to Zachary Mwangi Chege, director general of the KNBS, the downward trend is expected to continue as a result of the closure of substandard university satellite campuses and other teaching sites. “Continued quality assurance audits by the Commission for University Education … [have] led to reduction of university campuses from 168 in 2017 to 111 last year,” said Chege.

Professor Mwenda Ntarangwi, chief executive officer of the Commission for University Education, said 57 satellite campuses out of 81 established between 2014 and 2017 were closed last year.

According to Ntarangwi, the crackdown on satellite campuses will be intensified through regular inspections, until branch campuses mirror the quality of the main universities in terms of management style, physical learning facilities, libraries and staff ratios.

Among the universities hardest hit is Kisii University whose 10 satellite branch campuses in western Kenya have been shut down. Laikipia University also lost six campuses and Maasai Mara University five.

Shrinking campus populations

Having lost 10 campuses Kisii has become a major casualty in the race for students. Whereas in the 2016-17 academic year Kisii had a total enrolment of 22,908 students, the figure dropped to 19,903 in 2017-18 and the total enrolment this year is expected to drop to 12,000.

Other universities with shrinking student populations are Maasai Mara, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kabianga University, University of Eldoret, Chuka University, Maseno University, Kenyatta University, Technical University of Kenya and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

In addition to the closure of satellite campuses, on 14 April the government announced the scrapping of 107 degree courses which were either duplicated or irrelevant, and some of which failed to attract any student enrolments.

Ntarangwi has admonished universities for mounting unaccredited courses, advising universities to work closely with professional bodies before introducing professional courses, such as engineering or medicine, that required external accreditation.

Programme rationalisation

Amid efforts to trim the number of university campuses, plans are underway for a comprehensive rationalisation of degree programmes. According to KNBS, last year there were 5,076 degree programmes as compared to 3,686 programmes in 2017.

“The high increase is attributed to a directive by the Commission for University Education in December 2017 that recognised all university senate-approved programmes,” said Chege.

In spite of the large menu of degree programmes, some students with university entrance qualifications are opting to enrol in diploma-awarding technical, vocational education and training (TVET) institutions. Statistics from the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service indicate about 1,300 students who scored university entry grades in last year’s KCSE have snubbed university degree study in favour of diplomas in TVET polytechnics.

According to Dr Kipkirui Langat, director general of the TVET Authority, those students were discouraged by the idea of pursuing irrelevant and non-competitive degree courses. A large number of those students selected diploma courses in engineering, architecture, computer science and pharmacy, he said.

The government has halted the establishment of new universities or satellite campuses for now. According to George Magoha, cabinet secretary for education, universities will be encouraged to merge satellite campuses and specialise in programmes in which they excel and adhere to their original missions. “Universities should cut their niches,” said Magoha.

With Kenya’s politicians’ appetite for having universities established in their ethnic strongholds, only time will tell as to whether the reforms will succeed.