The Commission for University Education(CUE) has recommended massive changes to the structure of Kenya universities which, if adopted, may see some closed.
As Nation reports, CUE has proposed the merger of several universities or closure of some since many have become unsustainable.
In one of the far-reaching proposals, the commission wants the creation of a regional university system by merging universities within the same geographical locations and converting most of the existing universities into constituent colleges or campuses.
“This would be similar to the practice in the UK with the University of London System, the US with California University System and in Rwanda where all universities were merged and placed under an umbrella University of Rwanda system,” the proposal reads.
Campuses in Response to Needs
According to the report, the creation of the campuses from existing universities should be based on national development needs, existing infrastructure and resources, and regional balance.
“For example, in Mombasa, there could be a focus on marine ecology and oceanography and in Turkana a focus on arid lands and oil studies, but all as colleges of one national university. The rest of the public universities that do not fit this model will be closed,” the report says.
Fees Determined by Course
CUE seems to support a proposal made by Matiangi last year where the then education CS said the government planned to rollout unit-based where tuition fees and charges would be changed to align them with the cost of training for each programme.
“Rationalisation of the universities and university academic programmes through reduced number of universities, leaving fewer universities with clear focus on specific academic fields, will ensure prudent use of resources, quality, relevance and sustainability of university education in Kenya.
“The proposed recommendations in this advisory will provide a framework for the achievement of objectives of university education and the national development agenda.” CUE said.
