UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION IN KENYA; A BRIEF HISTORY
In Kenya, the need to regulate, coordinate and assure quality in
higher education was felt as a result of the rapid growth and expansion
experienced in the subsector prior to the establishment of the Commission
for Higher Education in 1985. At independence in 1963, Kenya had
an enrolment of 30,000 pupils in the 151 secondary schools at the
time. This figure shot up to 600,000 pupils enrolled in 3,000 secondary
schools which had been established by 1991. Yet during most of this
period, there was only one university level institution in Kenya,
the Nairobi University College, which between 1963 and 1970 had
an enrolment of about 1,000 students. On becoming a fully fledged
university in 1970, the University of Nairobi gradually increased
its enrolment to 8,900 in 1984. This increased enrolment was partially
achieved through the additional places offered at its two constituent
colleges, Kenyatta University College and Egerton University College.
The pressure on the government to increase enrolment at the University
was such that it became necessary to establish more universities.
Following the recommendations of a Presidential Working Party, Moi
University was established in 1984. Soon after Kenyatta University
College and Egerton University College were elevated to full University
status in 1985 and 1987 respectively. Enrolment in the four public
universities increased steadily to about 20,000 students by 1989/90.
University enrolment sky-rocketed with the 1990 intake of 21,450
students which increased the total enrolment to 41,000 students.
It was by now, evident that the Government was no longer able to
cope with the ever increasing demand for more University places
or even to provide the adequate resources required.
The thirst for university education and opportunities in the subsector
 were not lost to the private sector. It is therefore not surprising
that, between 1970 and 1984, ten (10) privately funded institutions
offering University level education, mainly Theological based, were
established. These institutions however, offered limited enrolment
and few programmes. By 1994/95 private university institutions had
increased to twelve (12) with an enrolment of slightly more than
4,000 students, which was but, a drop in the ocean of the high demand
for university places.Consequently, Kenyans increasingly turned to foreign universities
for university education. The number of Kenyan students in universities
abroad have continued to grow every year. It was estimated, for
instance, that there were 10,000 Kenyan students attending post
secondary institutions abroad in 1991. This estimate increased to
approximately 30,000 students in 1999 at a cost of Kshs.40 billion.
It was against this background that the Commission for Higher Education
was established in 1985 through an Act of Parliament. (The
Universities Act Cap 210B), to regulate growth and ensure quality
in higher education in Kenya.
The establishment of other public Universities, Jomo Kenyatta University
of Applied Technology (JKUAT) 1994: Maseno University, 2000 and
the Western University College of Science and Technology (WEUCST)
2002 was a further attempt to address the problem of the high demand
in University education. In the meantime the number of private university
institutions also increased to 17 with an enrolment of nearly 9,000
students. By 2002, there were six private universities which were
fully chartered, by the Commission, five granted letters of Interim
Authority and six, registered by the Commission. In addition, public
universities have introduced part time (module II) degree programmes,
which target both the public and private sector employees and school
leavers. Consequently, enrolment in the entire University sector
rose from 59,193 in 2000/2001 to 91,541 in 2004/2005. |
