Abstract
This paper was designed to be an empirical study, looking at the disparity between quantity and quality in higher education in Kenya. To enable a systematic look at quality and quantity within context, a combination of approaches: case study, delphi technique, observation and interviews were adopted for the purpose of this study. The research validated the common perception of massificationand corresponding poor quality in the higher education sector in Kenya; reflected by the poor measures in all the aspects of HE quality: Breadth of teaching, learning and assessment activities, students’ achievement, the curriculum, learning resources, student support and guidance, and academic management at subject/ department level. The results present serious concerns which require urgent attention and action. Several action points have been suggested that can prove useful in bringing about the necessary reforms in order to revitalise HE for the sake of enabling the achievement of Vision 2030 (the country’s granddevelopment programme).
Highlights
1.1 Higher Education in Kenya–The ProblemJowi (2003) describes the national education sector in Kenya as “in crisis”
To obtain an initial idea about the situation, one HE institution was purposely selected for case study analysis; observations, and interviews with students, and staff were conducted across the institution
To cross check the data gathered from the case study, the delphi technique was administered, primarily on academics from various universities in the country, to validate and explore the challenges, attitudes and needs in the HE sector in Kenya
Summary
Jowi (2003) describes the national education sector in Kenya as “in crisis”. He berates the Ministry of Education for remaining in perpetual denial about this crisis by reaffirming its false confidence in the current system. The whole problem can perhaps be attributed to a phenomenon called “massification”. The term ‘mass higher education’ was traditionally employed to describe the growth of enrolment beyond the level of academic reproduction and training for a small number of occupations requiring this education for demanding professions and privileged social positions. Scott (1995) used the term massification to describe the development of mass higher education during the latter part of the twentieth century. The government has gone ahead and introduced in the
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