EQUITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION LOAN DISBURSEMENT TO SELF-SPONSORED STUDENTS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

In the year 2014, the Commission for University Education (CUE), gave a directive that only those with PhD qualifications will be eligible to teach in the Kenyan universities beyond 2018. This was due to the realisation that, majority of the teaching workforce in Universities in Kenya were holders of Masters’ Degrees in their respective disciplines. Majority of these lecturers, however, were already enrolled in PhD programmes with some having spent up to eight years, more than the expected period of three to four years. The long time it takes to complete PhD studies has psychological, social, and financial implications on the students. It also undermines human resource capacities of the universities in which they teach and should be a concern to all the stakeholders in higher education. One of the main issues often cited for this delay is the challenge of supervision experienced by PhD students as they work with their supervisors on their theses and dissertations. In addition to other issues, this matter is an ethical one demanding critical redress by ethical leadership. This study therefore sought to investigate the supervision challenges encountered by such students in public and private universities in Kenya and strategies that can be put in place to overcome such challenges. Using both primary and secondary data, the study sought to provide answers to three research questions: What are the supervision challenges faced by PhD students in public and private universities in Kenya? What contextual factors have contributed to such challenges? and, What strategies can be employed by students and supervisors to provide quality supervision in a timely manner? The mixed methods design was used to address these research questions drawn from both private and public universities in Kenya after which the collected data was analysed through SPSS presented in both descriptive and regression forms. Article visualizations:

Equity and Access to University Education through Higher Loans in Bungoma District Kenya.

The study aimed at investigating the challenges affecting women career mobility in educational management in private and public universities in Kenya. The main objectives of the study were; to establish the challenges hindering women from progressing in their careers in public and private universities in Kenya, to examine the interventions put in place by both public and private universities in Kenya to address the challenges facing women in their career progression in private and public universities in Kenya.The following were the main findings of the Study: Women faced insurmountable barriers as they navigated through their career path in universities in Kenya. These challenges faced by women contributed to low number of women in the realm of university management in public and private universities in Kenya. Some of the challenges included: Lack of mentors, family responsibilities, lack of social networks, lack of training and development opportunities, socialization of men and women and aspirations of women, and cultural values and attitudes that view women as inferior. The study therefore concluded that there was need to change societal attitudes and cultural situation that influenced female participation in management to make them more competitive. There was need to put into practice a criteria for recruitment and promotion of university managers and implement available policies to increase women participation in university management and reduce the challenges that they encounter in their career mobility in public and private universities in Kenya.

Universities play a critical in preparing human resources for sustainable development of nations. There have been persistent concerns that public universities in Kenya are producing graduates inadequately prepared to effectively transition from learning to earning. Lecturers are the core agents in facilitating the development of relevant professional competencies and skills essential for graduates’ successful transition into the workplace. The debate on the quality of the graduate cannot ignore the quality of the lecturer. The purpose of this study is to examine lecturer quality in public universities in Kenya. The study used cross sectional research design. Eight universities representing 36.0% of public universities were sampled. A stratified proportionate random sample of 1,107 third and fourth year undergraduate students responded to the study. Thirty one key informants who included deans of schools, registrars in charge of academic affairs, directors of quality assurance, and chairpersons of students’ union participated in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire for students and interview guide for key informants. The tools were subjected to validity and reliability analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using factor analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages and content analysis. The research determined two valid and reliable dimensions which accounted for 62.95% of the variations in lecturer quality. The dimensions are lecturer’s professional attributes and instructional practices with professional attributes being the most important. Lecturer’s professional attributes is strongly related to instructional practices (r = 0.597, p Article visualizations:

Kenyan university students have performed relatively poorly compared to their counterparts in Australia and the United Kingdom when it has come to International sports participations. Could this be attributed to the personnel handling sports at the Kenyan Universities? This study went out to look at the perceptions of the students participating in sports at public and private universities in Kenya. Further, the study went out to look at the qualifications and quantification of personnel in both private and public universities in Kenya. The study used a descriptive research design. A questionnaire was used on 268 students responded. An interview schedule was used on 10 directors and chairmen of sports directorates and departments. A further 28 sports personnel in public and private universities in Kenya were also used in the study. The results indicate that personnel in Kenyan University had diverse field of training. There was need to arrest this diversity and create a more focused sports trained personnel if the Kenyan university expect to make the same impact as that of Australia and the United Kingdom in international sport. Results also show that private universities in Kenya have better and available personnel than the public universities.

Orientation programme is a gate keeper to facilitate the integration of new students into the university environment. Student adjustment increases their likelihood of success and retention. However, various studies reveal that a huge number of first years leave university due to adjustment related challenges. Specifically, the study endeavoured toascertain the degree to which orientation programme influences emotional adjustment of first-year students in public universities in Kenya; the study used descriptive survey design and mixed methods research approach. The study was conducted in nine public universities in Kenya. Slovin’s formula and purposeful sampling technique were employed to obtain 479 respondents from the target population of 71,285. Data was collected using a questionnaire, focused group discussions, and in-depth interview schedule. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques that include Content Analysis, Means and Standard Deviation, Factor Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Post-hoc t-tests were utilized. Detailed analyses revealed that new-urban universities obtained the highest levels of adjustment followed by new-rural universities, then old-urban universities, and old-rural universities as the least on; how to manage homesickness, how to handle loneliness, how to manage emotions such as anger, stress, mood-swings, guilt, fear, and frustration, the dangers of experimenting with alcohol and other substances of abuse, and on how to handle personal and intrapersonal conflicts. New-rural universities on the other hand, obtained highest levels of adjustment followed by new-urban universities, then old-urban universities, and old-rural universities as the least on how to develop healthy relationships with people of either gender. The establishment of proper counselling and wellness centres in all institutions of higher learning equipped with proper psychological assessment tools and manned by fully qualified and experienced service providers.

Noise-induced hearing loss in workplaces is a challenge, which may lead to accidents and interference with communication. In order to protect workers and students exposed in engineering workshops and laboratories, it is important to determine the magnitude and understand causative factors to adequately address the problem. The present study aimed at identifying predisposing factors that lead to noise-induced hearing loss in public universities in Kenya. The study was conducted in 10 technical universities, identified through purposive non-probability quarter sampling from a population of 49. Noise profiling was used to identify and characterize sources and types. An integrating sound level meter was used to record the noise levels for the different clusters and results compared with statutory requirements. Existing controls for noise pollution were also assessed. The results show that a large proportion (84.1%) of the noise types identified was continuous. The continuous noise emanated mainly from hand grinding (18%) and internal combustions engines (25%) with resultant values being above the statutory upper action limit of 85 dBA. The sources of impulsive noise were mainly intermittent actions of electric-powered (47.6%) and manually-operated (52.4%) tools. Impulsive noise levels were found to be below the maximum permissible exposure limit of 140 dBA. Although one of the universities had a safety and health committee and a risk management department, hearing protection was not used by those exposed. Noise-induced hearing loss in workshops and laboratories in public universities in Kenya is likely to occur from continuous noise exposure since there are inadequate control measures taken.

Alcohol use and associated risky behaviours is a leading cause of injury and death among university students and young adults in many parts of the world. Despite growing problems of global alcohol abuse among university students, accurate information on the patterns of alcohol use among university students in Kenya remain sparse. The objective of this study was to establish alcohol use patterns among students in both private faith-based and public universities in Kenya. The study was carried out in 2 private faith based universities and 2 public universities. A total of 374 students responded to a structured self-administered questionnaire (a response rate of 98%). Alcohol use patterns were measured by AUDIT and CAGE questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Alcohol use in the last month prior to the study was reported by 30.5% of the respondents. Alcohol use was more prevalent among the fourth years and those living off campus but not with their parents. Low risk alcohol use pattern was reported by 83.4% of the respondents. About 11.0% reported hazardous drinking pattern while only 1.6% and 4.0% were at harmful and alcohol dependence levels. Only 8.4% displayed problem drinking pattern. A significant relationship was found between patterns of alcohol use on AUDIT scale and type of university, however, problem drinking did not differ by university. It was recommended that university management and all the stake holders implement screening for alcohol use among students because there are students who engage in harmful and hazardous use and may not voluntarily seek help. Harmful and hazardous alcohol use patterns among students are a detriment to their health and negatively impact those around them.

Market development involves selling an already existing product into a market that was not buying the product before; the strategy can involve selling the product to different customer segment, selling the product in a new area or regions in which the product was not being sold or even in markets out of the country. This study aimed to investigate the adoption of market development strategies and its relationship with the organizational performance of public universities in Kenya. Market development strategies are important in promoting the performance of organizations, including public universities. Public universities in Kenya are faced with increasing competition government funding for public universities has been inadequate, leading to a strain on resources and a need for alternative sources of revenue and declining enrolment numbers, leading to a need to develop effective market development strategies to remain competitive and achieve their goals. Market development strategies have been defined as the process of identifying and targeting new market segments for existing products or service This study aims to explore the influence of market development strategy on the organizational performance of public universities in Kenya. Market development strategy should focus on identifying and exploiting opportunities in existing markets, exploring new markets, and diversifying product or service offerings. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the mean adoption score for market development strategies and the mean organizational performance score. Inferential statistics were used to analyze the correlation between the adoption of market development strategies and financial performance and to conduct a regression analysis to identify factors that influence the adoption of market development strategies among public universities in Kenya. The results showed that public universities in Kenya have moderate to high levels of adoption of market development strategies and relatively good organizational performance. A positive and significant relationship was found between the adoption of market development strategies and organizational performance. The adoption of market development strategies was found to be influenced by location and type of university, with urban and research universities adopting more market development strategies than rural and teaching universities. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the adoption of market development strategies by public universities in Kenya and its impact on their organizational performance. The findings suggest that public universities in Kenya can improve their financial performance by adopting market development strategies and by considering location and type of university in their strategy formulation. The study also provides insights for policymakers and university administrators on the importance of market development strategies in improving the organizational performance of public universities.

BackgroundWater pipe smoking has become a global public health problem as its popularity increased over time, especially among youth. The objective of our study was to estimate water pipe tobacco smoking prevalence and to assess socioeconomic factors associated with ever water pipe smoking by public and private university students in Ankara, Turkey.MethodsThis descriptive study was based on a survey conducted among public (n=2685) and private (n=2485) university students via an online questionnaire on demographics and water pipe consumption patterns. For every student in the sample, a socioeconomic status index was calculated using principal component analysis. Binary logistic regressions for the outcome variable of ever-using water pipe yielded estimates of adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for the associated factors such as the respondent’s age, gender, university type, and socioeconomic status.ResultsThe prevalence of ever use of water pipe was 69.1% (95% CI: 67.2-70.9%) among private and 59.1% (95% CI: 57.2-60.9%) among public university students. A substantial share of ever users were current users (25.5% in private versus 21.6% in public, p=0.008). On average, private university students had higher socioeconomic status than public university students (for example, access to a car (51.7% versus 35.8%, p=0.008), financial support from family (71.5% versus 65.1%, p<0.001)), also demonstrated by a higher socioeconomic status index. Being a private university student (aOR 1.57, 95% CI: 1.38-1.79), older (aORs 1.50 to 2.39, p<0.001), male (aOR 2.36, 95% CI:2.06-2.70), as well as having greater financial resources, such as having access to a car (aOR 1.24, 95% CI:1.07-1.42), or having income support from family (aOR 1.32, 95% CI:1.13-1.54), were associated with ever-using water pipe. A higher SES index was significantly associated with higher odds of ever using water pipe among both private (aOR 1.13, 95% CI:1.06,1.20) and public university (aOR 1.12, 95% CI:1.06,1.19) students.ConclusionsWater pipe smoking was common in both public and private universities; however, private university students had higher odds of ever using water pipe. There is an urgent need to implement evidence-based interventions, taking into account the socioeconomic status of young adults, to prevent them from water pipe smoking.

Purpose: The objective of the study was to determine the effect of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices (SHRMPs) on performance of public universities.&#x0D; Methodology: This study was essentially guided by the Resource Based Theory, as exemplified by the philosophical inclination of the study was positivist ontology. The research used a descriptive research design, in a census approach. The target population of the study were all public universities in Kenya. Data was collected from 31 public universities in Kenya with the aid of a self-administered questionnaire. Out of the 117 questionnaires that were distributed, 110 were returned and were found to be usable providing a 71% response rate. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data.&#x0D; Findings: The main finding of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the bundle of SHRMPs (rigorous recruitment, staff training, reward management and performance management), and performance of public universities in Kenya. The hypothesis of the study was that SHRMPs do not have an effect on the performance of public universities in Kenya. This finding was determined to be in tandem with the Resource Based Theory (Barney, 2001), which, among other points of emphasis, stresses the centrality of leveraging on people as key resources of an enterprise. The finding also resonated with empirical literature, including Al-Khaled &amp; Chung (2020), who found that that entities which adopted strategic human resource management practices were able to sustainably improve their performance, and Mathushan &amp; Kengatharan (2022), who found that the bundle of strategic human resource management practices, consisting of training, rewarding and performance management practices did positively impact on organizational performance.&#x0D; Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The finding of this study, that SHRM practices positively and significantly influence the performance of public universities, are arguably expansionary to the Resource Based Theory (RBT), as proponed by Barney (2001). Although the Resource Based Theory does not directly address strategic human resource management practices as elements of performance, it postulated that business entities needed to focus internally to activate resources, the most important one of which is the people resource. It is the people resource which enables such entities to achieve competitive advantage in their operations, given that it is the human resource which mobilizes, and creates value from the other resources within the enterprise.&#x0D; In this respect, therefore, it follows that every intervention made towards creating and enhancing the human resource capacity, including, as conceptualized in this study; rigorous recruitment, staff training, rewarding them and strategically managing their performance, does count, towards enhancing the contribution of the human resources, as exemplified by the Resource Based Theory, and consequently, activating the essential asset, towards competitive organizational performance.&#x0D; More directly, this empirical finding, regarding the positive influence of strategic human resource management practices on performance of public universities in Kenya has implications with respect to the public universities in Kenya. The main one is that, the public universities ought to take deliberate measures in determining and selecting appropriate SHRMPs. Such practices, according to the Resource Based Theory (Barney, 2001), are expected to be valuable, inimitable, and rare and may not be substitutable, in ensuring that public universities, like any other organizations, are able to sustainably achieve competitive advantage in their markets. This is further corroborated by the findings of Sagwa, K’Obonyo and Ogutu (2014), who averred that investing in human resources was crucial in promoting organizational performance. &#x0D; It is also the considered opinion of this study that, the finding that SHRMPs positively influenced the performance of public universities in Kenya, constituted new knowledge, at least, in extending the Resource Based Theory, as well as adding to the empirical literature with regard to strategic human resource management practices. Furthermore, the implications of the finding made, are more than likely to be relevant beyond the public universities sub-sector, and probably to include the entire public sector and, indeed, all organizations in general. &#x0D; To this end, therefore; human resource managers, HR departments, and units within public universities and other public and private entities, other human resource management practitioners, policy makers in HR-oriented public and private sector, as well as the community of researchers in human resource management and the related other disciplines, are likely to find the finding of this study useful. This is particularly considering the study’s recommendation that organizations have to identify and adopt appropriate bundles of SHRMPs that would reliably enable them to attain and sustain their competitive levels of performance.&#x0D; &#x0D;

Persistent increase of consumption of counterfeit goods despite government efforts to curtail it has justified further research to determine any factors that may not have been studied conclusively the studying the progression of the illicit goods consumption. The general objective of this study was to comprehend consumer attitude towards intention to purchase counterfeit mobile phones among masters’ students in Kenya. Specifically, the study focused on effects of materialism attitude, subjective norm attitude and moral intensity attitude on purchase intention of counterfeit mobile phones among masters’ university students in Nairobi. The study was premised on three theories, Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Attitude Function Theory. The study adopted descriptive survey design, and used purposive sampling to select the four public university campuses to target from the 10 public universities licensed to operate in Nairobi's central business district and subsequently used stratified random sampling to choose the target respondents in the selected campuses. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data for the study. Quantitative data was captured and organized using statistical package for social sciences and analysed using descriptive statistics which was shown using percentages frequencies and standard deviation. Inferential statistics comprising Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis were utilized to demonstrate the relationship between the independent and dependant variables. Content analysis was utilized to analyse qualitative data. Data was presented in the form of graphs and tables for simplicity of interpretation. This study will assist policy makers in coming up with plans to fight counterfeiting. The study found that materialism attitude, subjective norm attitude and moral intensity had a positive significant effect towards purchase intention of counterfeit phones among university students in Kenya. The study concluded that the consumers with a high level of materialism trait would be a very prospective segment for sustainable luxury brands. Subjective norm is a person’s perception of pressure in the social environment that is accepted so that it shows certain behaviour through considerations made by someone. Through moral intensity attitude individuals encounter moral or ethical issues within the personal environments of their daily living. The study recommended that high-materialism consumers should be driven to acquire goods and phones primarily to symbolize and communicate status and success messages to others. In terms of brands, more attention should be paid to consumers’ emotional needs and sensitivity. Organizations should emphasize the importance of moral judgment and attitude in explaining behavioural intentions and ethical behaviour in shaping demand for phones and also other goods.

The essence of this study was to establish student’s experiences on Moodle feedback features used in supporting teaching and learning activities in public universities Kenya offering online learning through Moodle system platform. The objectives of the study were: To find out popular Moodle feedback features by undergraduate students and secondly to establish student’s satisfaction levels with Moodle feedback features. The study targeted 17 out of 37 public universities using Moodle platform. A sample of three newly established and three oldest universities were randomly picked. A total of 14,322 second year undergraduate students were targeted since they had completed at least four unit courses online through Moodle system. A stratified sample size of 1,969 participants comprising students and eLearning administrators were involved in data collection exercise which employed questionnaire, interviews and focused group discussion. Descriptive research design approach was used in this study. Data analysis comprised of descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that there is no significant relationship between Moodle feedback features and student’s satisfaction levels, approximately 62.4 % of students received timely feedback from their instructors, over 93% of learners highly satisfied with databases feedback ,over 50 % of learners are not contented with feedback features found in Moodle system ,eLearning administrators responds to student’s inquiries in time, database response is the most popular Moodle feedback features among undergraduate students in public universities in Kenya and finally course instructors in public universities in Kenya are not keen in providing feedback to learners in time. The study recommends all learning institutions using Moodle system should set up controls to monitor and reward instructors actively involved in feedback activities. Keywords: Moodle, student’s satisfaction, Moodle feedback features , online learning , learning management system, public universities, Kenya. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-5-03 Publication date: February 28 th 2023

The purpose of the study is to explore whether there are significant differences between private and public universities in terms of market orientation components. The study examines whether there is a significant difference between customer focus, market intelligence, competitor orientation, inter-functional coordination and performance of universities in Kenya. Comparative studies on market orientation and performance of Public and Private Universities in Kenya, have been studied in many settings over the past several years and specifically none in Kenya. The research adopted descriptive research design on Public and Private Universities in Kenya. Primary data were collected from 115 respondents using a survey questionnaire administered to staff and students of both private and public universities in Kenya. Respondents were sampled using stratified sampling and purposive sampling method. Market intelligence generation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination are significant for both private and public universities, while customer orientation was insignificance in both universities. The results of the study indicate that there are significant similarities between private and public universities. In addition it implies that universities have embrace market oriented activities towards students’ satisfaction, students’ retention, student growth and increase of number of programmes. This paper puts forward market orientation practices which can inform policies and guide other academic institutions that would want to meet their students’ needs and services. The paper introduces the concept of market orientation for those institutions who may have not embrace the market-oriented practices in university sector in Kenya.

Most public Universities across the world have reported suboptimal financial performance compared to private universities. The poor financial performance can be attributed to financial management practices. The sound financial management practices require the institutions to have robust internal control systems. However, there are limited empirical research findings regarding the relationship between the internal control systems and financial performance in public universities in Kenya. The general objective of the study was to establish the effect of internal control systems on financial performance of public universities in Kenya. The study specific objective was to investigate the effect of detective controls on the financial performance of public universities in Kenya. The study was anchored on agency theory, stewardship theory, systems theory and attribution theory. The study adopted a causal research design. The target population of respondents were the deputy vice chancellors finance, registrar finance and administration, ICT personnel, finance officers and internal auditors in the 37 public universities in Kenya. The target population was 185 respondents. The study worked with a sample of 34 public universities through stratified random sampling, and the other three were used for pilot testing. Primary data was collected from sample population using semi-structured questionnaires. Secondary data was collected through evaluation of reports, organizational journals, publications and review of information from the organizations website. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). All the questionnaires received were referenced and items in the questionnaire coded to facilitate data entry. After data cleaning which entailed checking for errors in entry, descriptive statistics and frequencies were estimated for all the variables and information presented inform of tables, graphs and pie charts. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used because they enabled the researcher to meaningfully describe distribution of scores or measurements using a few indices. Inferential data analysis was done using Pearson Correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Regression analysis was conducted to empirically determine whether detective controls were significant in determining the financial performance of public universities in Kenya. Regression results indicated the goodness of fit for the regression between detective controls and financial performance was strong. From the regression model, detective controls and financial performance to a constant zero, financial performance would be 3.132. It was established that a unit increase in detective controls would cause an improvement in financial performance by a factor of 0.237. This clearly showed that there was a positive relationship between detective controls and financial performance. P-value was less than 0.05, which showed that variables covered in the study on detective controls were statistically significant to influence financial performance. The study concluded that detective controls had a positive and significant influence on the financial performance of public universities in Kenya. Keywords: Internal control Systems, Detective Controls, Financial Performance DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/12-16-09 Publication date: August 31 st 2021