Rethinking Quality and Relevance of University Education in Kenya

Abstract

Many stakeholders have expressed concern about the many graduates from Kenyan universities who after qualifying, not only fail to get jobs but also fail to venture into alternative forms of engagement to earn their livelihood, a scenario that raises question as to the quality and relevance of University education they got. The concerns being raised calls for rethinking of the quality and relevance of university education in Kenya. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the propensity of university education in Kenya to inculcate entrepreneurial culture in graduates. The theory of planned behaviour formed the theoretical foundation of the study. The study adopted a triangular design approach where views relating to entrepreneurial culture were sought from final year students from one public and one private university. The study targeted 3146 final year students drawn from University of Kabianga, (2272) and Kabarak University (874). From this, a sample of 614 students proportionately distributed among the two universities was drawn. Entrepreneurial environment was found to be more or less the same in both private and public universities recording moderate score. However, public university scored slightly higher. In conclusion, there is no significant difference in the levels of preference for entrepreneurship when comparison is made between public and private universities in Kenya. Arising from the current finding, the study recommends provision of better entrepreneurial support system.