Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) head Mayunga Nkunya wrote to the Kenyan Government asking Nairobi to increase the duration of the course from five to six years in line with Uganda and Tanzania, said .
This, Prof Nkunya said, would help harmonise regional universities’ programmes and raise quality of training.
But Higher Education secretary Harry Kaane on Monday told a conference of regional universities that Kenya would not adopt the six-year programme.
“This is because our universities are gradually picking up the trimester plan where students report for three semesters in a year,” Prof Kaane said.
He said by reducing the study period, local universities not only saved money but also increased efficiency.
“Our universities have accelerated the academic year plan, but that does not mean medical students are poorly trained,” he said.
Medical training is offered at Nairobi, Moi and Kenyatta universities.
Prof Kaane also argued that it took three years to pursue a degree course in engineering in Uganda while it took five years in Kenya.
The conference was organised by the German Academic Exchange Services (Daad), an organisation of that country’s higher education institutions that promotes international academic relations.
Daad hopes that training university managers on quality assurance will have a big impact on the entire community towards harmonisation.
When the programme, commonly known as credit transfer, is finally rolled out students will be able to move from one university to another in the community with ease.
They also do not need to change degree courses, or the particular subjects that they are pursuing, since this will already have been harmonised.
The harmonisation is being coordinated by the IUCEA in liaison with government agencies responsible for higher education in the East African Community, including Rwanda and Burundi.
Prof Kaane, however, put local universities on the spot, saying they were too expensive and forced Kenyan students to leave the country for cheaper education in Uganda, among others.
He urged the universities to not only teach courses that were relevant to the market, but also efficient ones that empowered graduates to drive a knowledge-based economy. “Let the market determine the kind of courses to be offered,” he said.
Higher Education Commission boss Everett Standa said the quality assurance programme would enhance universities’ competitive edge.
“This reform programme will undoubtedly transform universities into modern, efficient and result-oriented institutions,” Prof Standa said.
SOURCE:NATION Media.
By BENJAMIN MUINDI bmuindi@ke.nationmedia.com
This post was written by: Author Name
Your description comes here!
Get Free Email Updates to your Inbox!
