The government could soon sponsor PhD students in public universities.
It is a requirement by the Commission for University Education for university lecturers to have PhDs.
The University Funding Board is seeking to expand the scope of student funding to include grants for those pursuing PhDs. The proposal is still under consultation.
Should the proposal be accepted, conditional grants will be given to the beneficiaries to complete their programmes within the stipulated time frame of three years and commit to serve as staffers in universities for a number of years.
However, the period they will be required to serve as university staff has not been decided.
"The model has worked for those who are given scholarships to study abroad within a stipulated period of time then they return ," Commission for University Education chief executive officer Milton Njuki told the Star on Monday.
Ordinarily, a doctorate programme should take three years. However, data from the commission shows that students sometimes take up to six years and at least 50 per cent of them have dropped out in the last 10 years.
The delayed completion of PhDs is partly to blame for the high cost associated with doctorate programmes. This paints a grim picture of the number of doctorate degree holders in the country.
The data is contained in a report by CUE and the Kenya National Qualification Framework Authority.
The University Funding Board says it will strengthen the higher education sector to ensure financial sustainability that has been a major challenge.
“If we can get more people working in the universities then we can get more professors. This is a unique way of addressing financial troubles because professors are seen as a resource, they are expected to generate money for the institutions through their research projects,” Njuki said.
The proposal has been received well by a section of university stakeholders. The University and Academic Staff Union secretary general Constantine Wasonga said it will help address under staffing in universities.
"In some universities lecturers handle as many as a 100 students in a single unit instead of 50... If well executed, then it will be a boost and will go a long way to improve quality,” Wasonga said.
Kenya has about 10,000 PhD holders. About 400 applicants graduate annually, against a national target of 900.
Most of the PhD students take at a long time to complete their programmes. The Kenya National Qualification Framework Authority — the agency mandated to regulate education qualifications — describes doctorate degrees as delicate and needs constant engagement between lecturers and students.
This means a PhD lecturer needs to handle a lean number of students. The government recommends a maximum of 30.
This is, however, not the case. The majority of lecturers handle between 80 and 100 students, raising questions on the quality of those who complete their programmes. This is partly blamed on the high dropout rate.
“PhD supervisors should not attend to many students because this is purely research work that is demanding and needs regular monitoring. When a lecturer works with many students, the quality is compromised and some are not able to move with the pace of the lecturer,” KNQFA director Juma Mukhwana told the Star yesterday.
