As an academic working at a university in Kenya, I’ve witnessed at first hand the massive disruptions to learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation is not unique to Kenya. Universities in neighbouring Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia are similarly affected. Kenya has over 70 universities, 38 of them public and 35 private. Over 500,000 students were…
Globalization is a multifaceted concept that describes the process of creating networks of connections around the world. It involves the interdependence of national economies and the integration of information, goods, labour and capital, to name a few. In recent years, globalization has been the subject of growing discontent and criticism, particularly after…
Social media and internet forums function as an important space of contestation for issues relating to queer identities. This is evident in reactions to two fairly recent queer-themed African films, one from South Africa – Inxeba/The Wound – and the other from Kenya – Rafiki. The films were met with diverse responses, from…
Recurrent grants for public universities have dropped to 53 percent on stagnated government funding, slashing the average amount allocated per student. State funding to public universities is based on the Differentiated Unit Cost (DUC) model whereby institutions are allocated budgets based on the number of undergraduate students they register for…
You can’t! One of the biggest challenges facing young entrepreneurs is that often they’ve had no prior experience working inside a successful company. They thus never got to learn and understand fully the #Processes that drive such companies to success. Unless they fully appreciate this handicap and seek ways to…
With the arrival of vaccines in the country, Kenya is set to begin its COVID-19 vaccination roll-out. Catherine Kyobutungi, Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Center, provides some insights into the country’s COVID-19 vaccine strategy and the inclusion of private companies in vaccination programmes. What’s the rollout plan? The…
“Failure is a bruise. Not a tattoo!” by John Sinclair A friend of mine is a perfectionist. Better at money management than I am (no surprise there. Even doctors smoke and drink more than their patients :)) She has a budget and sticks to it – everything in its place…
Universities have a long history of operating in environments that are unstable, disruptive and unpredictable. They’ve endured political upheavals, financial crises and disruptive trends such as digital transformation and globalisation. They’ve had to respond to demands for greater access, life-long learning and multiple competing demands from students, society, the state,…
Last week I went shopping for exactly one item. I held a hundred shillings in my hand because I was certain of the price. I walked into the estate supermarket. NB: This is a chain that, on more than one occasion, has listed a different price on the shelf from…
International rankings of universities are big business and big news. These systems order universities on the basis of a variety of criteria such as student to staff ratio, income from industry, and reputation as captured through public surveys. Universities around the world use their rankings as marketing material and parents and…
