Trade CS Moses Kuria has proposed that some of the public universities be privatised.
The CS, whose ministry is driving Kenya's privatisation agenda, argues that some of the universities have not exploited their full potential yet they sit on huge tracts of land that can be put to good use.
University education in Kenya has expanded over the years; currently, there are 39 public universities and 31 private universities (see page 8).
This has enabled more Kenyans to access university education unlike before when admission was limited to a few.
Public university education is subsidised and this has enabled needy but bright students to get higher education. Privatisation will deny many deserving cases a chance to pursue university education.
What the state needs to do is rationalise the number of public universities by merging some to create entities with strong financial muscles. It is not feasible for each county to have a university.
We need a manageable number that the Exchequer can comfortably fund. The universities must however equally go into entrepreneurship to generate their own revenue.
They should cut a niche for themselves and offer specialised courses, unlike the current scenario where courses are duplicated.
They should also not offer diploma and certificate courses as the country now has enough tertiary level colleges to undertake this.
Quote of the Day: “I had never passed a single school exam, and clearly never would.”
Mary Leakey
The British paleoanthropologist, who discovered earliest human footprints, was born on February 6, 1913
