Case Study - Kenya and University of Nairobi

UniversitiesandEconomicDevelopmentinAfrica
CASESTUDY: KenyaandUniversityofNairobi
TracyBailey,NicoCloeteandPundyPillay
Contents
Listoftablesandfigures......................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................vii Projectgroup.......................................................................................................................viii Acronymsandabbreviations.................................................................................................ix Glossaryofterms....................................................................................................................x HigherEducationandEconomicDevelopmentpublications..............................................xiii PART1:INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................. 1 1.1 IntroductiontotheHigherEducationandEconomicDevelopmentproject........... 1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.2 1.3 OverviewofHERANA...................................................................................1 Projectfocusandprocess............................................................................2 Theanalyticalframeworkforthestudy......................................................3 Whattheprojectisnotdoing......................................................................5
DatacollectionfortheKenyancasestudy............................................................ 6 Thefocusandstructureofthisreport................................................................... 6
PART2:THEKENYACASESTUDY:BACKGROUNDANDCONTEXT..................................... 8 2.1 TheKenyaneconomyandapproachtoeconomicdevelopment........................... 8 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.2 Economicdevelopment,competitivenessandinnovation.........................8 Economicdevelopmentpolicyandplanning.............................................15
TheKenyanhighereducationsystem.................................................................16 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 Sizeandshapeofthesystem ....................................................................16 . Highereducationexpenditureandfinancing............................................19 Highereducationgovernanceandpolicy..................................................22
UNIVERSITIESANDECONOMICDEVELOPMENTINAFRICA|KENYACASESTUDY
2.3
TheUniversityofNairobi....................................................................................26 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 Keymomentsinthedevelopmentoftheinstitution................................26 Governanceandstrategicobjectives........................................................29 Institutionalfinances.................................................................................30
PART3:THEROLEOFHIGHEREDUCATIONINKENYA....................................................32 3.1 3.2 Introduction.......................................................................................................32 Thenationalperspective....................................................................................33 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.3 Keynationalstakeholdersinrelationtothepact.....................................33 Theroleofhighereducationinnationalpolicies......................................33 Governanceandpolicycoordination.........................................................35
TheUniversityofNairobiperspective.................................................................35 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.3 Institutionalnarrative(s)ontheroleoftheuniversity..............................35 Initiativesaroundresearchandinnovation...............................................39 Initiativesaroundteachingandlearning...................................................42
PART4:THEUNIVERSITYOFNAIROBIACADEMICCORE................................................43 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Introduction.......................................................................................................43 SETenrolmentsandgraduations........................................................................45 Postgraduateenrolmentsandgraduations.........................................................49 Studentstaffratios.............................................................................................52 Academicstaffqualifications..............................................................................55 Researchfunding................................................................................................56 Researchoutputs................................................................................................58
PART5:THEENGAGEMENTANDDEVELOPMENTRELATEDACTIVITIESOFTHE UNIVERSITYOFNAIROBI......................................................................................60 5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................60
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5.2
Engagementandlinkageswithexternalstakeholders........................................60 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.4 Universitygovernmentindustrylinkages.................................................61 Foreigndonors...........................................................................................64 Incentives,rewardsandcoordination.......................................................64 Summary....................................................................................................66
5.3
Theconnectednessofdevelopmentactivitiestotheacademiccore...................66 5.3.1 5.3.2 5.3.3 5.3.4 Abriefoverviewoftheprojects................................................................68 Articulation................................................................................................79 Contributiontostrengtheningtheacademiccore....................................84 Analysisoftheconnectednessofdevelopmentprojects/centres............88
PART6:KEYFINDINGS...................................................................................................91 6.1 6.2 6.3 Introduction.......................................................................................................91 Somemacroobservationsabouthighereducationandeconomicdevelopment inKenya.............................................................................................................92 EvidenceofapactaroundtheroleofhighereducationinKenya?......................93 6.3.1 6.4 6.5 Notionsoftheroleofknowledgeanduniversitiesindevelopment.........95
TheacademiccoreoftheUniversityofNairobi..................................................98 Coordinationandconnectedness......................................................................102 6.5.1 6.5.2 Knowledgepolicycoordinationandimplementation.............................103 Connectednesstoexternalstakeholdersandtheacademiccore ..........105 .
6.6
Concludingcomments......................................................................................108
Listofresources.................................................................................................................110 Appendix1:Listofinterviewees.......................................................................................113 Appendix2:Clusteranalysismethodologyanddata........................................................114 Appendix3:Academiccoreratingdescriptions................................................................118
iv
Listoftablesandfigures
Tables Table2.1:GDPpercapitavs.HumanDevelopmentIndexinsubSaharanAfrica(2007)9 Table2.2:Selectedhighereducationandeconomicdevelopmentindicators..............11 Table2.3:Globalcompetitivenessandglobalinnovation.............................................13 Table2.4:Countrycomparisonofinnovationinputs(enablers)andoutputs...............14 Table2.5:PublicandprivateuniversitiesinKenya(2007)............................................17 Table2.6:Admissiontrendstopublicuniversities(2002/032005/06) ........................18 . Table2.7:UniversityofNairobigovernmentallocation(1999/002006/07)................31 Table4.1:Nairobi:Totalenrolmentsbyfieldofstudy(thousands)..............................46 Table4.2:Comparisonoftotalscienceandtechnologyenrolments(thousands)........47 Table4.3:TotalSETgraduates.......................................................................................48 Table4.4:Comparisonoftotalscienceandtechnologygraduates...............................49 Table4.5:Comparisonoftotalpostgraduateenrolmentsinallfieldsofstudy.............50 Table4.6:Nairobi:Masteranddoctoralenrolmentsandgraduates.............................50 Table4.7:Comparisonofmastersanddoctoralenrolments ........................................51 . Table4.8:Comparisonofdoctoralgraduates................................................................52 Table4.9:Nairobi:FTEstudentsandacademicstaff.....................................................53 Table4.10:Comparisonofpermanentacademicswithmastersanddoctoraldegrees (2007)...........................................................................................................56 Table4.11:Nairobi:Researchoutputs...........................................................................58 Table5.1:Overviewofthedevelopmentrelatedprojects............................................77 Table5.2:Articulationwithinstitutionalobjectivesandnationalpriorities.................80 Table5.3:Initiation/agendasetting,fundingsourcesandimplementationagencies..81 Table5.4:Financialsustainabilityoftheprojects/centres............................................82 Table5.5:Articulationrating(maximumscore=13).....................................................83 Table5.6:Contributiontostrengtheningtheacademiccore........................................85 Table5.7:Strengtheningacademiccorerating.............................................................87 Table5.8:Summaryofratings........................................................................................88 Table6.1:RoleforknowledgeanduniversitiesindevelopmentinKenya....................94
Table6.2:Comparingnationalandinstitutionalnotionsoftheroleofhighereducation inKenya........................................................................................................98 Table6.3:UniversityofNairobi:Ratingoftheacademiccore ....................................100 . Table6.4:Nationalcoordinationofknowledgepolicies..............................................103 Table6.5:Implementationofknowledgepoliciesandactivities.................................104 TableA2.1:Clusteranalysisdatatable.........................................................................115 Figures Figure2.1:Incomebysourceasapercentageoftotalincome,UniversityofNairobi (20002006)................................................................................................31 Figure4.1:Nairobi:Enrolmentsbyfieldofstudy ..........................................................46 . Figure4.2:Comparisonofscienceandtechnologymajorsas%oftotalenrolment....47 Figure4.3:Nairobi:Graduationratesbyfieldofstudy..................................................48 Figure4.4:Comparisonofscienceandtechnologygraduationrates............................48 Figure4.5:Comparisonof%postgraduatesinenrolmenttotal....................................49 Figure4.6:Comparisonofdoctoralenrolmentsas%ofmastersanddoctoral enrolments...................................................................................................51 Figure4.7:Comparisonoftotaldoctoralgraduates......................................................52 Figure4.8:Comparisonsof2007FTEstudentstaffratios.............................................54 Figure4.9:ComparisonoftotalsofpermanentandFTEacademicstaff(2007)...........54 Figure4.10:ComparisonofratiosofFTEtopermanentacademicstaff(2007)............55 Figure4.11:Comparisonofhighestformalqualificationsofpermanentacademics (2007)...........................................................................................................55 Figure4.12:ComparisonofresearchincomeinmarketrateUSDandPPP$(millions) 57 Figure4.13:Comparisonoftotalresearchincomeperpermanentacademicinmarket rateUSDandPPP$(thousands).................................................................57 Figure4.14:Comparisonofresearchpublicationunitsperpermanentacademic.......58 . Figure4.15:Comparisonofdoctoralgraduatesingivenyearas%ofpermanent academicsemployed..................................................................................59 Figure5.1:Plottingthedevelopmentrelatedprojects .................................................89 . Figure6.1:Thefournotionsoftheroleofknowledgeanduniversitiesin development ................................................................................................96 . Figure6.2:Plottingthedevelopmentrelatedprojects/centresattheUniversityof Nairobi........................................................................................................107 FigureA2.1:Plotofmeansforeachcluster.................................................................117
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Acknowledgements
Thisstudywouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthesupportandparticipation ofthefollowingorganisationsandindividuals: Funding The Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Rockefeller FoundationandtheKresgeFoundation. UniversityofNairobicontacts MrSamuelKiiruforhisassistanceinprovidingbackgroundinformationonthe universityandschedulinginterviews. MrBernardWaweruforprovidingtheacademiccoredatafortheuniversity. InterviewrespondentsattheUniversityofNairobi Mr Ben Waweru (Academic Registrar), Prof. IM Mbeche (Principal: College of HumanitiesandSocialSciences),Prof.EHNNjeru(Dean:FacultyofArts),Prof. Edward K Mburugu (Associate Dean: Faculty of Arts), Prof. Patts Odira (Dean: School of Engineering), Prof. Madara Ogot (Managing Director: University of NairobiEnterprisesandServices),Prof.EricOOdada(ProgrammeDirector:Pan AfricanSTARTSecretariat),Prof.DorothyMcCormick(InstituteforDevelopment Studies), Mr John Njoka (Institute for Development Studies), Prof. Winnie Mitullah(InstituteforDevelopmentStudies),Prof.NJMuthama(Departmentof Meteorology), Prof. Francis Mutua (Hydrometrology and Surface Water ResourcesUnit),Prof.NjugunaNgethe(ChronicPovertyResearchCentre),Prof. John H. Ndiritu (Dean: Faculty of Agriculture), Dr Wanjiru Gichuhi (Population StudiesandResearchInstitute),MrSamuelW.Kiiru(InstituteforDevelopment Studies). Nationalstakeholder:ElizabethWafula(SeniorAssistantCommissionSecretary (Planning),CommissionforHigherEducation)
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Projectgroup
Academicadvisers HigherEducationStudies: Prof.PeterMaassen(UniversityofOslo)andDrNicoCloete (Director:CHET,andUniversityoftheWesternCape) DevelopmentEconomics: DrPundyPillay(CHETConsultant) SociologyofKnowledge: ProfJohanMuller(UniversityofCapeTown)andProfJohannMouton(Universityof Stellenbosch) DrNicoCloete(Director:CHET) DrPundyPillay(CHETConsultant) Prof.PeterMaassen(UniversityofOslo) MsTracyBailey(CHETConsultant) DrGeraldOuma(KenyaandUniversityoftheWesternCape) MrRomuloPinheiro(UniversityofOslo) MrPatricioLanga(MozambiqueandUniversityofCapeTown) MrSamuelFongwa(CameroonandUniversityoftheWesternCape) MrBikoGwendo(KenyaandUniversityoftheWesternCape) DrIanBunting(CHETConsultant)andDrCharlesSheppard(NelsonMandela MetropolitanUniversity)foranalysisoftheacademiccoredata MrNeliusBoshoff(UniversityofStellenbosch)fordataonresearchoutput MsTracyBailey(ProjectManager) MsAngelaMias(CHETAdministrator) MsMoniqueRitter(ResearchAssistant) MsCarinFavis(Transcriber) Prof.ManuelCastells(UniversityofSouthernCaliforniaandOpenUniversity, Barcelona) HigherEducationResearchandAdvocacyNetworkinAfrica(HERANA)
Researchers
Contributorstoreports
Projectassistance
ExternalCommentator
Network
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Acronymsandabbreviations
CHE CHET CPRCK DFID FTE GCI GDP GER GII HERANA ICSU IDRC ILO KES KESSP MDG MEST MHEST NGO PPP R R&D SET SME STI TIVET UKZN UNES UoN USD WEF CommissiononHigherEducation CentreforHigherEducationTransformation ChronicPovertyResearchCentreKenya DepartmentforInternationalDevelopment Fulltimeequivalent GlobalCompetitivenessIndex Grossdomesticproduct Grossenrolmentratio GlobalInnovationIndex HigherEducationResearchandAdvocacyNetworkinAfrica InternationalCouncilforScience InternationalDevelopmentResearchCentre InternationalLabourOrganisation KenyaShilling KenyaEducationSectorSupportProgramme MillenniumDevelopmentGoal MinistryofEducation,ScienceandTechnology MinistryofHigherEducation,ScienceandTechnology Nongovernmentalorganisation Purchasingpowerparity SouthAfricanRand Researchanddevelopment Science,engineeringandtechnology Smallandmediumenterprise Science,technologyandinnovation Technical,industrial,vocationalandentrepreneurshiptraining UniversityofKwaZuluNatal UniversityofNairobiEnterprisesandServices UniversityofNairobi UnitedStatesDollar WorldEconomicForum
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Glossaryofterms
Academiccore The academic core refers to a universitys academic degree programmes and researchactivities. Ginicoefficient The Gini coefficient is a standard economic measure of income inequality, based on the Lorenz Curve. It ranges from zero (which indicates perfect equality,witheveryhouseholdearningexactlythesame),toone(whichimplies absoluteinequality,withasinglehouseholdearningacountry'sentireincome). GlobalCompetitivenessIndex(GCI) The World Economic Forum (WEF) defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. The GCI uses this definition to establish a quantitative tool to help policymakersbenchmarkandmeasurethecompetitivenessofagivencountry. The GCI is based on 12 pillars of competitiveness further divided into three pillargroups,whichare: Basic requirements (institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, healthandprimaryeducation); Efficiency enhancers (higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market sophistication, technological readiness,marketsize);and Innovationandsophisticationfactors(businesssophistication,innovation). GlobalInnovationIndex(GII) TheGIIassessesindetailtheextenttowhichdifferenteconomiesbenefitfrom thelatestinnovationadvances,basedonthreemainprinciples: There is a distinction between enablers (inputs) and outputs while measuring innovation in an economy. Enablers are aspects that help an economy to stimulateinnovationandoutputsaretheresultsofinnovativeactivitieswithin theeconomy. There are five enabler pillars that are included in the GII: institutions, human capacity, general and information and communications technology infrastructure,marketsophistication,andbusinesssophistication.Theenabler
pillars define aspects of the conducive environment required to stimulate innovationwithinaneconomy. The two output pillars which provide evidence of the results of innovation withintheeconomyarescientificoutputsandwellbeing. Grossdomesticproduct(GDP) TheGDPisthetotalmarketvalueofallfinalgoodsandservicesproducedina country in a given year, which equals total consumers, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports, minus the value of imports. ChangesintheGDPonanannualbasisprovideameasureofeconomicgrowth. Grossenrolmentratio(GER) TheGERindicatesthetotalenrolmentinaspecificlevelofeducation,regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the official schoolage population, correspondingtothesamelevelofeducationinagivenschoolyear.TheGERis calculated by dividing the number of pupils (or students) enrolled in a given levelofeducation,regardlessofage,bythepopulationoftheagegroupwhich officiallycorrespondstothegivenlevelofeducation,andmultiplyingtheresult by100.The GERiswidelyusedtoshow the generallevelof participationin a given level of education. It indicates the capacity of the education system for enrollingstudentsofaparticularagegroup.Itisusedasasubstituteindicator to Net Enrolment Ratio (NER, outlined below) when data on enrolment by single years of age are not available. The GER can also be a complementary indicator to the NER by indicating the extent of overaged and underaged enrolment. HumanDevelopmentIndex(HDI) The HDI is a summary composite index that measures a country's average achievementsinthreebasicaspectsofhumandevelopment.Theseincludethe following: Health(measuredbylifeexpectancyatbirth); Knowledge (measured by a combination of the adult literacy rate and the combinedprimary,secondary,andtertiaryGER);and Adecentstandardofliving(measuredbyGDP(income)percapita). TheHDIwascreatedtoemphasisethatpeopleandtheircapabilitiesshouldbe theultimatecriteriaforassessingthedevelopmentofacountry,noteconomic growth.
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Pact ApactisdefinedbyGornitzkaetal.(2007:184)asafairlylongtermcultural commitment to and from the University, as an institution with its own foundational rules of appropriate practices, causal and normative beliefs, and resources, yet validated by the political and social system in which the University is embedded. A pact, then, is different from a contract based on continuous strategic calculation of expected value by public authorities, organised external groups, university employees, and students all regularly monitoringandassessingtheUniversityonthebasisofitsusefulnessfortheir selfinterest,andactingaccordingly. Purchasingpowerparity(PPP) The PPP is a rate of exchange that accounts for price differences across countries, allowing international comparisons of real output and incomes. At thePPP$rateusedinthisreport,PPP$hasthesamepurchasingpowerinthe domesticeconomyasUSD1hasintheUS.
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HigherEducationand EconomicDevelopmentPublications
The eight case study reports in this series contain the detailed data and analysis for eachcountryanduniversityinthesample.Together,theyformtheempiricalbasisfor the analysis and discussion of findings contained in the CHET book, Universities and Economic Development in Africa, which was published in August 2011. While every effort has been made to check the data and edit the text in the time available, it should be noted that these case study reports have not been subjected to the publishing rigours of formally published publications. They are therefore made availableasis.
Highereducationandeconomicdevelopment:Aliteraturereview PundyPillay(2010)
This report reviews the international literature on the relationship between highereducationandeconomicdevelopment. Thereview focuses onprevious research and theory on the link between higher education and economic growth, the knowledge economy, innovation, and local and regional development.Thereviewwouldbeofinteresttoacademicsandstudentswho workinthefieldofhighereducationstudies. Clickheretodownloadacopyofthisreport.
Linkinghighereducationandeconomicdevelopment:ImplicationsforAfrica fromthreesuccessfulsystems PundyPillay(2010)

This book synthesises the findings of case studies of three systems Finland, SouthKoreaandNorthCarolinaintheUSthathavesuccessfullylinkedhigher educationtotheireconomicdevelopmentinitiatives.Thispublicationwouldbe ofparticularinteresttopolicymakersandfunders. Clickheretodownloadacopyofthisreport.
UniversitiesandeconomicdevelopmentinAfrica NicoCloete,TracyBailey,PundyPillay,IanBuntingandPeterMaassen(2011)
ThisreportpresentsthekeyfindingsfromeachoftheeightAfricancasestudy reports and synthesises these within the analytical framework of the larger study. This publication would be of interest to national policymakers, internationalagencies,fundersanduniversityleadership. Clickheretodownloadacopyofthisreport.
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Part1
Introduction
ATAGLANCE
OverviewofHERANA Projectfocusandprocess Analyticalframework Datacollection Focusandstructureofthereport
1.1
IntroductiontotheHigherEducationandEconomicDevelopmentproject

1.1.1 OverviewofHERANA
The Higher Education and Economic Development project forms part of the work of the Higher Education Research and Advocacy Network in Africa (HERANA). HERANA was established in 2007 and is coordinated by the Centre for Higher Education Transformation (CHET) in Cape Town, South Africa. Key partners include the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), Makerere University(Uganda)andtheUniversityofOslo(Norway). The research component of HERANA investigates the complex relationship betweenhighereducationanddevelopmentinAfrica,withaspecificfocuson economic and democratic development. A second research area explores the use of research in policymaking. Alongside the research component is an advocacystrategythataimsto: Disseminatethefindingsoftheresearchprojects; CoordinateexistingsourcesofinformationonhighereducationinAfrica, Developamediastrategy;and Put in place a policy dialogue (through seminars and information technology) facilitatinginteractionsbetweenresearchers,institutionalleadersanddecision makers. ThecapacitybuildingcomponentofHERANAistheHigherEducationMastersin AfricaProgramme,runjointlybetweenthekeypartners.Themainobjectiveof the project is to contribute to the strengthening of higher education in Africa through building capacity and expertise in African higher education. The studentscontributetohighereducationanddevelopmentresearchthroughthe researchcomponentsoftheprogramme.
TheresearchandadvocacycomponentsofHERANAarefundedbytheCarnegie CorporationofNewYork,theFordFoundation,theRockefellerFoundationand the Kresge Foundation. The Higher Education Masters in Africa Programme is fundedbyNORAD.
1.1.2 Projectfocusandprocess
As a point of departure, the overall aim of the project was to investigate the complex relationships between higher education (specifically universities) and economic development in selected African countries with a focus on the context in which universities operate (political and socioeconomic), the internal structure and dynamics of the universities themselves, and the interaction between the national and institutional contexts. In addition, the project aimed to identify those factors (practices, strategies) and conditions (context) at both national and institutional levels that facilitate or inhibit universitiesabilitytomakeasustainedcontributiontoeconomicdevelopment. The project began with a review of the international literature on the relationship between higher education and economic development (Pillay 2010a). This was followed by case studies of three systems which have successfully linked their economic development and higher education policy and planning Finland, South Korea and the North Carolina state in the US (Pillay2010b). The next phase of the project involved the collection of data at both the national and institutional levels in the eight African countries and universities includedinthestudy: BotswanaUniversityofBotswana GhanaUniversityofGhana KenyaUniversityofNairobi MauritiusUniversityofMauritius MozambiqueEduardoMondlaneUniversity SouthAfricaNelsonMandelaMetropolitanUniversity TanzaniaUniversityofDaresSalaam UgandaMakerereUniversity The countries included in the study were selected for three main reasons: on thebasisofpreviouscollaboration;beinglocatedinsubSaharanAfrica;and,on thebasisofWorldEconomicForum(WEF)ratingsregardingparticipationinthe knowledge economy in the African context. In each of the collaborating countriesthenationaluniversitywasselected,exceptinSouthAfricawherethe NelsonMandelaMetropolitanUniversitywasregardedasamorecomparable institution. Semistructuredinterviewswereconductedwithawiderangeofindividualsin each country, including selected ministries, commissions/councils for higher education and other stakeholders at the national level; and, institutional leadership, heads of developmentrelated projects and centres, and academic
andadministrativestaff.Theanalysisalsodrawsonvariouspolicyandstrategy documents (national and institutional levels), as well as quantitative data including national development indicators and statistics relating to the higher educationsystemsanduniversitiesinthesample. Throughout the project process, dissemination and advocacy activities have takenplace.ThesehaveincludedseminarsinmanyoftheAfricancountriesin thesampleandinNorway,aswellasdisseminationviatheHERANAwebsite1.
1.1.3 Theanalyticalframeworkforthestudy
Intheknowledgeeconomy,universitiesareconsideredtobekeyinstitutionsfor the production of highlevel skills and knowledge innovation, based on the traditional core business of universities the production, application and disseminationofknowledge. Inmanycountries,highereducationhasbecomeoneofthecentralareasinthe governmentsknowledgepolicies.Thismeansthatmorepolicy/politicalactors than the Ministry of Education, as well as socioeconomic stakeholders (employers organisations, funders and research councils), have become interested in higher education and involved in higher education policy. This raises the issue of system and institutionallevel coordination of knowledge policies with adequate structures and processes within the political system, most notably the capacity to coordinate different political activities of the governingofknowledgeproduction,reproductionandcoordination. Asmentionedearlier,togetabetterunderstandingoftherelationshipbetween higher education and development, the research group undertook three case studies (Finland, South Korea andNorth Carolina state) where there is a well establishedintegrationofhighereducationinnationaldevelopmentstrategies. Ofparticularinteresttoourstudywastoanswerthequestion:Whatisitabout these three systems that enable them to successfully link higher education to economic development? Put another way: What are the core conditions that are present in each of the three systems that enable their higher education sectorstosuccessfullyandsustainablycontributetodevelopment? Common to all three systems was a strong, agreed upon framework for economicdevelopmentaimedatrealisinganadvanced,competitiveknowledge economy, and the important role for higher education in this regard. Despite major contextual differences, the three systems exhibited the following conditionsforharnessinghighereducationforeconomicdevelopment: Theirhighereducationsystemshadbeenbuiltonafoundationofequitableand qualityschooling.Therewasalsoanemphasisonachievinghighqualityhigher education. Theyhadachievedveryhighhighereducationparticipationrates.
1
HERANAwebsite:http://www.chet.org.za/programmes/herana/.
Their higher education systems were differentiated (institutional and public/private) as part of achieving their human capital, research and innovationobjectivesforeconomicdevelopment. Their governments ensured a close link between economic and (higher) educationplanning. There were effective partnerships and networks between the state, higher educationinstitutionsandtheprivatesectortoensureeffectiveeducationand training,andtostimulateappropriateresearchandinnovation. Therewasstrongstateinvolvementinanumberofotherrespectsincluding,for example, adequate state funding for higher education; using funding to steer the higher education sector to respond to labour market requirements; and, incentivisingresearchandinnovationinthehighereducationsector. Drawing on the review of literature (Pillay 2010a), the implications from the case studies of three successful systems (Pillay 2010b), and preliminary observationsfrom the eightAfricancasestudies,weformulatedthefollowing analyticalpropositions: 1. A condition for universities contributions to development is the existence of a broad pact between government, universities and core socioeconomic actors about the nature of the universities role in development. 2. Asacoreknowledgeinstitution,theuniversitycanonlyparticipateinthe global knowledge economy and make a sustainable contribution to development if its academic core is quantitatively and qualitatively strong. 3. For linking universities effectively to development a country needs various forms and methods of knowledge policy coordination. In addition,theconnectionsbetweenthelargerpolicycontext,universities anddevelopmentarecrucial.
Theanalyticalpointofdepartureforourmodelis,therefore,thattheconditions underwhicheachuniversityinAfrica,aselsewhere,iscontributingtoeconomic developmentareinfluencedbythefollowingthreeinterrelatedfactors: The nature of the pact between the universities, political authorities and societyatlarge; Thenature,sizeandcontinuityoftheuniversitysacademiccore;and, The level of coordination, the effectiveness of implementation, and connectednessinthelargerpolicycontextofuniversities. These,inturn,areinfluencedbylocalcircumstances,forexample,thenatureof the economy of a country, and its political and governance traditions and culture; institutional characteristics, including the looselycoupled nature of higher education institutions; and, the external relations of universities, especiallywithnationalauthorities,foreignagenciesandindustry.
These analytical propositions give rise to the following sets of research questions: To what extent is there agreement (a pact) between key stakeholders about theroleofhighereducation,andtowhatextentdoesthisincludeaspecificrole forhighereducationineconomicdevelopment?Istherearoleforknowledge productionandforuniversitiesinthenationaldevelopmentplan? What policies, funding, structures and incentives are in place at the national andinstitutionallevelswhichgiveexpressiontotheroleofhighereducationin economic development? To what extent is there coordination of these activitiesbetweenthedifferentnationalauthorities,andbetweenthenational authorities,institutionalstakeholdersandexternalagencies? What is the strength of the academic cores of the national (flagship) universities? Aredevelopmentactivitiesintheuniversitiesconnectedtoexternalgroupings anddotheseactivitiesstrengthenorweakentheacademiccore? This report presents the data that address these questions in the Kenyan context generally, and with specific reference to the University of Nairobi (UoN). The analytical framework of the study is elaborated further in Part 6 whichdiscussesthekeyfindingsforthiscasestudy. Ascanbeenseenfromtheanalyticalframeworkoftheproject,thisstudyhasa considerablescope.However,theprojectisnotattemptingtodothefollowing: Measure or evaluate the extent to which universities are contributing to development,ortheimpactthattheiractivitieshaveondevelopmentintheir respectivecountries. Include an assessment of the impact or effectiveness of specific institutional policies,unitsordevelopmentprojects. Review the number or nature of donor projects, or an examination of the overallcontributionofparticularexternaldonorstouniversitydevelopment. Assume or assert that the primary role for higher education is development, but rather seeks to investigate the factors that either facilitate or inhibit the possiblecontributionsthatuniversitiescanmaketodevelopment.
1.1.4 Whattheprojectisnotdoing
1.2
DatacollectionfortheKenyancasestudy
A wide range of data sources have been consulted for the purposes of developingthiscasestudy.Inordertopreparefortheresearchteamsvisitto Kenya, CHET obtained a letter of cooperation from the vicechancellor of the UniversityofNairobi(UoN),whoalsoapprovedtheselectionofMrSamuelKiiru (Institute of Development Studies) as our Institutional Contact and Facilitator. The next step was to request background information on the Kenyan higher education system and the university from Mr Kiiru. In addition to the background information, Mr Kiiru was asked to assist in the scheduling of interviews for the research team and, together with the relevant institutional leadership, to identify 510 projects that related to either economic developmentorpovertyreduction. The research team visited Kenya in June 2009 to conduct interviews with nationalandinstitutionalstakeholders.Thenationalstakeholderwasfromthe Commission for Higher Education. The institutional stakeholders at the UoN includedinstitutionalleaders,senioracademicsandprojectleaders.Thefulllist ofintervieweesisprovidedinAppendix1. Inadditiontothesitevisitandinterviews,arangeofnationalandinstitutional documents has been consulted. These are listed in the list of sources. In developingthecasestudyreport,additionalinformationwasgleanedfromthe internet as well as further correspondence with interviewees to verify informationandfillingaps. Finally,duringJulyandAugustof2010,thefirstdraftofthisreportwasemailed to the vicechancellor, the project leaders and other key institutional stakeholdersatUoNwitharequesttoprovidewrittenfeedbackontheaccuracy of the information and interpretation of data contained in the report. In additiontothewrittenfeedbackreceivedfromanumberofindividuals,formal feedbackwasobtainedfromtwouniversityrepresentativesduringaseminarin Franschhoek,CapeTown,inAugust2010.
1.3
Thefocusandstructureofthisreport
This report pulls together a wide range of data on the national development contextandthehighereducationsysteminKenya,aswellastheUoN,inorder to address the key research questions. The structure of the remainder of the reportisasfollows: InPart2,weprovidebackgroundandcontextualinformationaboutKenyaits economic development and global competitiveness ratings, its approach to economic development policy and planning, as well as the size and shape, governance,policyandfinancingofthehighereducationsystem.Abriefprofile oftheUoNisalsoprovidedincludingkeymomentsinthedevelopmentofthe institution, its governance structure and strategic objectives, and the institutionalfinances.
InPart3ofthereport,weturntotherole(s)ofhighereducationinKenyain general,andinrelationtoeconomicdevelopmentthroughaninvestigationof the ways in which both national and institutional stakeholders talk about and conceptualisetheroleofhighereducation,thepolicieswhichgiveexpressionto thesenotions,aswellasthestructuresandmechanismsforcoordinationwhich relatetohighereducation. InPart4weexaminethenatureoftheacademiccoreattheUoN. In Part 5, we investigate the UoNs engagement with its key external stakeholders and the incentives for developmentrelated activities. We also undertake an analysis of the selected development projects at the university, with a specific focus on the connectedness between these activities and the academic core. In particular, we explore the articulation of development activities with national priorities and institutional objectives, as well as with externalstakeholders,andtheextenttowhichtheseactivitieseitherstrengthen orweakentheacademiccoreoftheinstitution. In Part 6, we provide a summary of the key findings of the report and relate thesetotheanalyticalframeworkandkeyquestionsofthestudypresentedin Part 1. Thisincludes a discussion of the natureand extentof the pactaround theroleofhighereducationinKenya;thenatureandstrengthoftheacademic coreoftheUoN;thecoordinationandimplementationofknowledgepoliciesat the national level;and the connectedness of developmentrelated activities in theuniversitytoexternalstakeholdersandtotheacademiccore.
Part2
TheKenyacasestudy: Backgroundandcontext
ATAGLANCE
2.1
TheKenyaneconomyandapproachtodevelopment HighereducationinKenya Aprofileof theUniversityofNairobi
TheKenyaneconomyandapproachtoeconomicdevelopment

2.1.1 Economicdevelopment,competitivenessandinnovation
Kenyahasapopulationofabout36million.ItsGDPpercapitain2005wasUSD 760 (compared to Mauritius USD 5 059, South AfricaUSD 5 109, Uganda USD 303,TanzaniaUSD316andMozambiqueUSD335)(UNDP2007).InPPPterms (thatis,adjustedtotakeaccountofwhatUSD1willbeabletobuyinvarious countries), Kenyas GDP per capita was USD 2 083 (South Africa USD 11 110, Mauritius USD 12 715, Mozambique USD 1 242, Uganda USD 1 454 and TanzaniaUSD744).InEastAfrica,Kenyaisbyfartherichestcountryintermsof GDPpercapitameasures(ibid.). Kenyaslevelofsocialdevelopmentisalsomuchhigherthanitsneighbours.In terms of the Human Development Index (HDI computed as an average of a countrysadultliteracyrate,lifeexpectancyandGDPpercapita;inotherwords, encapsulatingbothsocialandeconomicindicators),Kenyaisrankedat148out of 177 countries in 2005 (compared to Uganda at 154 and Tanzania at 159). SpecificcountryHDIcomponentswereasfollows:lifeexpectancy(2005):52.1 years; adult literacy (19952005): 73.6%; and combined GER for primary, secondaryandtertiaryeducation(2005):60.6%(ibid.). Povertylevelsfortheperiod19902005wererelativelyhigh,asfollows(ibid.): populationlivingbelowUSD1aday22.8%;populationlivingbelowUSD2a day58.3%;and,populationbelownationalpovertyline52%. Table 2.1 compares GDP (or income) per capita and the HDI for the HERANA sample of countries and the three international case studies. The difference between the GDP per capita ranking and its HDI ranking reflects divergence between economic and broader social development, and is often a consequence of inequality in access to income, education, health, etc. For example,SouthAfricasHDIrankingis51placeslowerthanitsGDPpercapita
ranking, and Botswanas is 65 these figuresare amongst the highest for the countriesrankedinthisreport.
Table2.1:GDPpercapitavs.HumanDevelopmentIndexinsubSaharanAfrica(2007) Country GDPpercapita (PPP,USD)* 13604 1334 1542 11296 802 9757 1059 1208 34526 24801 GDPranking HDIranking** GDPranking minusHDI ranking 65 1 2 13 3 51 6 6 11 9
Botswana Ghana Kenya Mauritius Mozambique SouthAfrica Uganda Tanzania Finland SouthKorea
60 153 149 68 169 78 163 157 23 35
125 152 147 81 172 129 157 151 12 26
UnitedStates 45592 9 13 4 Source:UNDP(2009) Notes: *PPPshowsarateofexchangethataccountsforpricedifferencesacrosscountries,allowing internationalcomparisonsofoutputandincomes.AtthePPP$rateshowninTable2.1forthe eightHERANAcountries,PPP$1hasthesamepurchasingpowerinthedomesticeconomyas USD1hasintheUS. **177countrieswereranked.TheHDIisacompositeindexmeasuringdeprivationsinthethree basicdimensionsalongandhealthylife(asmeasuredbylifeexpectancy),accessto knowledge(adultliteracy,andcombinedprimary,secondaryandtertiaryeducationenrolment), andadecentstandardofliving(GDPorincomepercapita).
TheKenyaneconomycanbecharacterisedasadualeconomy,havingasmall, relatively sophisticated urban economy based largely in Nairobi and a large, underdeveloped rural economy. Economic growth has rarely risen above its potential, averaging 4.4% most recently between 2002 and 20072. Growth of per capita income has also risen moderately at around 2% for most of this decade.ThesocioeconomicchallengesforKenyaaremanyandincluderaising theeconomicgrowthratesubstantiallytoaround78%forasustainedperiod andreducingchronicunemploymentandpoverty. According to the Vision 2030 policy document, under the guidance of the EconomicRecoveryStrategyforWealthandEmploymentCreation,theKenyan economyhasrecoveredandresumedthepathtorapidgrowth.Theeconomy
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EconomyWatch:Kenya:www.economywatch.com/world_economy/Kenya/.
grewbymorethan6%in2007from0.6%in2002(2.8%in2003,4.2%in2004 and 5.8% in 2005) (GRK 2007: 1).The growth has been widely distributed, coveringalleconomicandsocialsectors,andresultinginareductioninpoverty levelsfrom56%in2002to46%in2006.Also,thisgrowthhasnotonlyimpacted positively on the indicators of other Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (e.g. education, health, gender and environment), but has also availed more resourcestoaddresstheMDGsacrosstheeconomy.Currently,moreresources have been devolved to the local level through such schemes as the Constituency Development and Bursary Funds, the Local Authority Transfer Fund, and the Constituency Aids Fund, among others, to directly address the MDGs at this level (ibid.). Despite the development registered under the Economic Recovery Strategy, the country continues to face challenges in infrastructure and in institutional reforms needed for the highest levels of efficiencyinproductionatfirmandhouseholdlevels. Theeconomyisalsobeingtransformedsectorallywiththeshareofagriculture decliningfrom38%inthe1960sto28%in2004;withmanufacturingincreasing from10%to17%,andservicesfrom52%to55%,duringthesameperiod(ibid.). Ineducation,seriousconsiderationneedstobegiventoimprovingaccessand equity at all levels. At the higher education level, quality, internal efficiency, genderequityandresponsivenesstothelabourmarketarekeychallenges. In terms of the WEFs (2010) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI, 201011), Kenyaisrankedat106outof139countries.AccordingtotheWEF,Kenyaisa Stage1(factordriven)economy. Table 2.2 provides data on quality of the education system, gross tertiary educationenrolmentratesandglobalcompetitiveness,aswellasthestageof development of each countrys economy. It shows this data both for the HERANA countries as well as the three international case studies. The latter grouphastertiaryeducationparticipationratesandareallinnovationdriven economies. Amongst the HERANA countries, there is a strong correlation between tertiary education participation and global competitiveness, on the onehand,andthestageofeconomicdevelopmentontheother.Thecountries fall into two groups. One group (Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa) has relatively high GDP per capita (Table 2.1) and tertiary education participation and is classified as efficiencydriven. The other group, comprising the five othersamplecountries,hasrelativelylowGDPpercapitaandtertiaryeducation participation, and is classified as factordriven. The countries in this latter grouparealsorankedrelativelylowintermsofglobalcompetitiveness.
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Table2.2:Selectedhighereducationandeconomicdevelopmentindicators Country Stageof development (20092010)1 Qualityof education systemranking (20092010)2 71 32 Stage1: Factordriven 81 99 72 Transitionfrom 1to2 Stage2: Efficiencydriven Stage3: Innovation driven 48 50 130 6 Grosstertiary education enrolmentrate (2008) 6.25 4.16 1.5 1.5 3.7 7.64 25.9 15.4 94.4
4 5 3
Ghana Kenya Mozambique Tanzania Uganda Botswana Mauritius SouthAfrica Finland
Overallglobal competitiveness ranking (20102011)2 114 106 131 113 118 76 55 54 7
SouthKorea 57 98.1 22 United 26 82.9 4 States Sources:WEF(2010) Notes: 1 Incomethresholds(GDPpercapitainUSD)forestablishingstagesofdevelopment(WEF2010: 10):Stage1Factordriven:<2000;Transitionfromstage1tostage2:20003000;Stage2 Efficiencydriven:30009000;Transitionfromstage2tostage3:900017000;Stage3 Innovationdriven:>17000. 2 Rankedoutof139countries. 3 2005figure. 4 2006figure.The2010figurebytheBotswanaTertiaryEducationCouncilisover20%whilein SouthAfricathefigureremainedaround16%. 5 2007figure. 6 2009figure.
Ofthe12pillarsofcompetitivenessthattheWEFusesinthederivationofthe GCI,twoareparticularlyrelevantforthepurposesofthisstudy:theefficiency enhancing5thpillar,highereducationandtraining;andoneoftheinnovation andsophisticationfactors,namelyinnovation.Withregardtohighereducation andtraining,Kenyafairsrelativelywellat85outof133countriescomparedto itsoverallrankingof98.Oninnovationitranksveryhighgivenitsdevelopment status, at 48. On innovation and sophistication factors, comprising business sophistication and innovation Kenya is ranked at 50, the highest ranked AfricancountryafterSouthAfrica. TheGlobalCompetitivenessReportfor 20092010reportsonKenyaas follows (WEF2009:39): Kenya, ranked 98th, has fallen five places this year, with a weakening especially in its institutional environment. Kenyas
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keystrengthscontinue tobefoundinthemorecomplexareas measuredbytheGCI.Forexample,Kenyasinnovativecapacity is ranked an impressive 48th, with high company spending on research and development and good scientific research institutions collaborating well with the business sector in research activities. Supporting this innovative potential is an educational system that although reaching a relatively small proportion of the population compared with most other countriesgetsgoodmarksforquality(34th)aswellasforon thejob training (44th). The economy is also supported by financial markets that are sophisticated by international standards(37th),withrelativelyeasyaccesstoloansandshare issuesonthelocalstockmarket. However, there are a number of basic weaknesses that are eroding Kenyas overall competitive potential. As mentioned above, the countries public institutions are assessed as increasingly inefficient (ranked 117th, down from 100th last year), plagued by undue influence (120th), government inefficiency(101st),andhighandrisingcorruption(116th,down from 101st last year). The security situation in Kenya is also worrisome,particularlyinregardtocrimeandviolence(122nd), the potential of terrorism (127th), and the prevalence of organised crime (118th). Health is another area of serious concern (ranked 119th), with a high prevalence of communicablediseasescontributingtothelowlife expectancy of54years. Table 2.3 compares the GCI and Global Innovation Index (GII) for the eight HERANAcountries.
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Table2.3:Globalcompetitivenessandglobalinnovation Country Botswana Ghana Kenya Mauritius Mozambique SouthAfrica Uganda GlobalCompetitivenessIndex (GCI)Ranking* 66(4.08) 114(3.45) 98(3.67) 57(4.22) 129(3.22) 45(4.34) 108(3.53) GlobalInnovationIndex(GII) Ranking** 86(2.80) 105(2.66) 83(2.84) 73(2.93) 100(2.69) 51(3.24) 108(2.65)
Tanzania 100(3.59) 98(2.69) Sources:*WEF(2009);**INSEAD(2010) Notes: 1. GCI a) TheGCIranks132countries,withthetopthreecountriesbeingSwitzerland(withaGCI scoreof5.60),USandSingapore. b) TheGCIisderivedfromthreesubindicesand12pillarsofcompetitiveness.Thethree subindicesarebasicrequirements(withfourpillarsinstitutions,infrastructure, macroeconomicstability,andhealthandprimaryeducation);efficiencyenhancers (withsixpillarshighereducationandtraining,goodsmarketefficiency,labourmarket efficiency,financialmarketsophistication,technologicalreadiness,andmarketsize); andinnovationandsophisticationfactors(withtwopillarsbusinesssophistication andinnovation).Thebasicrequirementssubindexisconsideredkeyforfactordriven economies,theefficiencyenhancersarekeyforefficiencydriveneconomies,andthe innovationandsophisticationfactorsarekeyforinnovationdriveneconomies. 2. GII a) TheGIIcombinesinnovationinputs(suchasinstitutions,humancapacity,information andcommunicationtechnologyanduptakeofinfrastructure,marketandbusiness sophistication)withinnovationoutputs(suchasscienceandcreativeoutputs). b) ThetopfourcountriesintheGIIareIceland(withascoreof4.86),Sweden,HongKong andChina.
TheGIIassessesindetailtheextenttowhichdifferenteconomiesbenefitfrom thelatestinnovationadvances,basedonthreemainprinciples(INSEAD2010): There is a distinction between enablers (inputs) and outputs while measuring innovation in an economy. Enablers are aspects that help an economy to stimulateinnovationandoutputsaretheresultsofinnovativeactivitieswithin theeconomy. TherearefiveenablerpillarsthatareincludedintheGII,namely:institutions, human capacity, general and information and communication technology infrastructure, market sophistication and business sophistication. The enabler pillars define aspects of the conducive environment required to stimulate innovationwithinaneconomy. Therearetwooutputpillarswhichprovideevidenceoftheresultsofinnovation withintheeconomy:scientificoutputsandwellbeing.
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The scientific outputs include knowledge creation (e.g. patents, publications) and knowledge application (e.g. industry valueadded; production process sophistication; employment in knowledgeintensive services). Amongst the innovation inputs or enablers, human capacity is measured by investment in educationandthequalityofeducationalinstitutions. Inthe2009/10GII,Kenyaisrankedat83outof132countries(comparedto98 forTanzania,and108forUganda).Intermsofinnovationinputs,Kenyaranksat 65 (Tanzania 101 and Uganda 102). In terms of innovation outputs Kenya is ranked at 117 (Uganda 104 and Tanzania at 91). Kenya thus has the basic ingredients (innovation inputs) for innovation and participation in the knowledge economy but is incapable of translating this into appropriate innovationoutputs. Table2.4providesacomparisonofsomeenablerandoutputpillarsforUganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. This table shows that Kenya outranks Tanzania and Ugandaoneveryvariableexceptgrowthrateoflabourproductivity.Kenyais alsoamoreunequalcountrythanitsneighboursasreflectedinitshigherGini coefficient.
Table2.4:Countrycomparisonofinnovationinputs(enablers)andoutputs Enableror Output ScienceOutput Enableror Variable OutputPillar Knowledge creation Localavailabilityofspecialised researchandtrainingservices Capacityforinnovation Growthrateoflabour productivity Productionprocesssophistication GDPpercapita(USD) Ginicoefficient Educationexpenditure(%ofGNI) Extentofstafftraining Qualityoftheeducationalsystem Qualityof educational institutions Qualityofscientificresearch institutions Qualityofmanagementschools Innovation potential Source:INSEAD(2010) Availabilityofscientistsand engineers Enrolmentintertiaryeducation Uganda Tanzania 3.67 2.56 6.00 2.27 348 0.43 4.00 3.46 3.17 3.68 3.54 3.71 3.47 3.48 2.53 4.90 2.78 362 0.35 2.39 3.64 3.17 3.63 2.83 3.48 1.45 Kenya 4.40 3.35 0.60 3.22 464 0.48 6.63 4.22 4.43 4.27 4.44 4.31 2.75
Knowledge application
Creative Output HumanCapacity(enabler)
Benefitsto socialwelfare
Investmentin education
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2.1.2 Economicdevelopmentpolicyandplanning
Kenya Vision 2030 is the countrys new development blueprint covering the period 20082030. It aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialising, middleincomecountryprovidingahighqualityoflifetoallitscitizensbythe year2030(GRK2007:1). Thevisionisbasedonthreepillars:theeconomic,socialandthepolitical.The adoption of the vision comes after the successful implementation of the Economic Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation which has seen the countrys economy back on the path to rapid growth since 2002, when GDP grew from a low of 0.6%, rising to 6.1% in 2006 (ibid.). The aims of the three pillarsaredescribedinthedocumentasfollows(ibid.): The economic pillar aims to improve the prosperity of all Kenyans through an economic development programme, coveringalltheregionsofKenya,aimingtoachieveanaverage Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 10% per annum beginning in 2012. The social pillar seeks to build a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean and secure environment. The political pillar aims to realise a democratic political system founded on issuebased politics that respects the rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individualinKenyansociety. The Kenya Vision 2030 is to be implemented in successive fiveyear medium termplans,withthefirstplancoveringtheperiod20082012. As the country makes progress to middleincome status through these developmentplans,itisexpectedtohavemetitsMDGsbythe2015deadline. SomeofthegoalshavealreadybeenmetandVision2030spellsoutactionthat willbetakentoachievetherest. Theeconomic,socialandpoliticalpillarsofKenyaVision2030areanchoredon macroeconomic stability; continuity in governance reforms; enhanced equity andwealthcreationopportunitiesforthepoor;infrastructure;energy;science, technology and innovation (STI); land reform; human resources development; security; and public sector reforms (ibid.: 6). Key economic sectors identified includetourism,agriculture,wholesaleandretailtrade,manufacturingforthe regionalmarket,businessprocessoffshoring,andfinancialservices(ibid.:1015).
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2.2
TheKenyanhighereducationsystem

2.2.1 Sizeandshapeofthesystem
Systemdifferentiation Kenyas higher education sector comprises seven public and 18 private universities, making it one of the largest higher education systems in Africa. There are also other higher education institutions such as polytechnics and colleges. Apart from these, the government is establishing a new public university at the coast in addition to the new constituent colleges that were allocatedtotheexistinguniversitiesin2007. Privateuniversitieshave,foralongtime,coexistedwithpublicuniversitiesand are continuing to flourish. The 18 private universities have different levels of status, according to their accreditation stages. These are in descending order: accrediteduniversities(7);universitieswithlettersofinterimauthority(6);and universitieswithcertificatesofregistration(5)(Otieno2010). Therapidexpansionofthehighereducationsectorhasbeenduetotherising demand for higher education. Private providers have taken advantage of the slowpaceofexpansionofthepublichighereducationsector.Unlikethepublic institutions, the private universities are mainly theologicallybased and offer comparatively fewer programmes. They tend to prefer business studies, informationcommunicationandtechnology,andthesocialsciences.
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Table2.5:PublicandprivateuniversitiesinKenya(2007) Publicuniversities EgertonUniversity(1987) JomoKenyattaUniversityofAgricultureandTechnology(1994) KenyattaUniversity(1985) MasenoUniversity(2000) MasindeMuliroUniversityofScienceandTechnology(2007) MoiUniversity(1984) UniversityofNairobi(1970) Privateuniversities:Chartered(7) AfricaNazareneUniversity(2002) CatholicUniversityofEasternAfrica(1992) DaystarUniversity(1994) KenyaMethodistUniversity(2006) ScottTheologicalCollege(1997) UnitedStatesInternationalUniversity(1999) UniversityofEasternAfrica,Baraton(1991) OtherPrivateUniversities: LettersofInterimAuthority(7) KabarakUniversity(2000) KiririWomensUniversity(2002) AgaKhanUniversity(2002) StrathmoreUniversity(2002) GreatLakesUniversityofKisumu(2006) GretsaUniversity(2006) KenyaCollegeofAccountancy(2007) Source:Otieno(2010) CertificateofRegistration(6)=Allin1999 TheEastAfricaSchoolofTheology KenyaHighlandsBibleCollege TheNairobiInternationalSchoolofTheology ThePanAfricaChristianCollege TheNairobiEvangelicalGraduateSchoolofTheology St.PaulsUnitedTheologicalCollege
CloselyrelatedbutdistinctlyapartfromthehighereducationprocessinKenya are the tertiary and middlelevel colleges offering various programmes. They includesixdiplomacollegesforthetrainingofnongraduatesecondaryschool teachers,20teachertrainingcollegesforprimaryschoolteachers,fournational polytechnics, 17 institutes of technology and 20 technical training institutes (ibid.). There are also a number of private postsecondary education and training institutions whose precise numbers are not known. Nongraduate healthcare professionals (e.g. nurses and clinical officers) are trained in 11 medicaltrainingcollegesinvariouspartsofthecountry. Participationinhighereducation ThegovernmentofKenyahasendeavouredtoincreaseparticipationinhigher education since independence. Even when there was only one federal universityofEastAfrica,enrolmentofKenyanstudentsinoverseasuniversities waspursuedtoensurewidenedaccesstohighereducation.
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Universityenrolments Students who qualify for postsecondary schooling either enrol in the regular programmesinthepublicuniversities,selfsponsoredprogrammesinthepublic universities, private universities, middlelevel colleges including the national polytechnics, teacher training colleges (both certificate and diploma), or proceed for university education overseas. The minimum qualification needed for university admission is a C+ pass. Despite more than 50 000 students qualifyingforadmissioneachyear,notmorethan10000getadmissionintothe regular programme. As a result, a number of students qualify but are not admitted(Table2.6).
Table2.6:Admissiontrendstopublicuniversities(2002/032005/06) Academic year 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 Totalform4 No.qualified enrolment (c+andabove) 176018 42158 186939 193087 42721 58218 68030 JAB admissions 11046 10791 10200 10000 %qualified admitted 26.2 25.3 17.5 14.7 %ofform4 admitted 6.3% 5.8% 5.3% 4.8%
2005/06 209276 Source:Otieno(2010)
Despite the limited direct intake, the population of university students has continued to grow. Public universities dominate in enrolments, even though there are more private institutions. By 2004/2005, the six public universities had91541students,whilealltheprivateuniversities(18)had10050students (Otieno2010). The total enrolment of selfsponsored students (Module II) at University of Nairobi in 2004/2005 was more than the regular fulltime students and also higher than enrolment in all private universities. Enrolments in the self sponsoredprogrammesareactuallyhighersincemanystudentsareintegrated (attendthesameclassesasregularstudents,asopposedtomainlyeveningand schoolbased study) in fulltime study. What this confirms is that public universitieshavebeenabletoexpandtheirinternalcapacitymuchfasterthan theprivateuniversities.Theparttime,privateprogrammesareresponsiblefor thisincrease,sincetherehasbeenstagnationinthenumberofregularstudents beingenrolledinpublicuniversities. Privateuniversityshareoftotalenrolmentsiscurrentlyonly11%,downfroma high of 20% before the onset of privatisation (i.e. selfsponsored students) in publicuniversities.Therapidgrowthofthepublicsectoruniversities,especially through these Module II programmes, largely explains the reduced private university share. Public sector enrolments in 2004/2005 reflect a growth of 80.5% (or 16.1% annual) over 2000/2001. In contrast, the private university growth was 18.4% (3.7% annual) over the same period (ibid.). This growth pattern reflects the changing fortunes of public and private institutions. The privatisationgainsbytheformercreatehurdlesforthelatter.
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2.2.2 Highereducationexpenditureandfinancing3
Twootheraspectsofpublicandprivateprovisionstandout.First,thoughpublic universitiesremainpublic,morethanhalfoftheenrolmentsareinprivateentry schemes in these universities. Second, there are more female students in the private than public universities. In the former, they constitute about 52% of enrolmentswhereasinthelatter,theyareonlyabout30%ofthetotalstudent population(ibid.). Technicaleducationenrolments Technicaleducation,popularlyknownasTIVET(technical,industrial,vocational and entrepreneurship education and training), is offered in four national polytechnics (Kenya, Mombasa, Eldoret and Kisumu), 17 institutes of technology, 20 technical training institutes and the Kenya Technical Teacher TrainingCollege(ibid.).Inadditiontothese,anumberofgovernmentministries alsoofferthreeyearprofessionaltrainingatdiplomalevelfortheirmiddlelevel humanresourcerequirements.Therearealsoseveralotherprivatecommercial technicalinstitutionswhoseexactnumberisnotknown. EnrolmentinTIVETinstitutionsfluctuatedbetween2002/03and2006/2007.It grew from 52 254 to 66 737 students between 2002/03 and 2003/04, only to decrease to 29 870 in 2005/06 (ibid.). The decrease may be attributed to: a) abolitionofproductioncoursesintheseinstitutions;b)unaffordabilityduethe highcostoftechnicaleducation(estimatedatKES110000peryear)compared withthehighpovertylevels;c)lackofscholarshipsoranyformofgovernment support for those not able to pay; and d) diversification of courses offered in theinstitutionsandrelevanceofthesametothelabourmarket(ibid.). Thepolytechnicsaccountforatotalof37%oftechnicaleducationenrolments. Enrolmentsinteachereducation Thereare28primaryteacherstrainingcollegesinthecountry,ofwhich20are public. There are also three diploma teacher training colleges. Enrolment in these colleges was just under 18 000 in 2006, with females making 50.5% of enrolment(ibid.).Teachertrainingcollegesformanimportantavenueforthose who desire to continue with postsecondary education but fail to secure admission in the universities and other technical education institutions. Notably,however,enrolmentintheseinstitutionshasnotrisenassteadilyasin otherhighereducationinstitutions. Since their inception, the funding of public universities in Kenya has been mainly in the purview of the government. However, due to the very rapid expansionofthesector,thegovernmenthasencouragedthepublicuniversities to establish alternative strategies for generating additional funding. The privatelysponsored student programmes and the establishment of university
3
ThissectiondrawsonOtieno(2010).
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companies to commercialise some noncore aspects of the universities are somestronglyemergingexamples. Funding is one of the major challenges facing Kenyan universities. In recent years,governmentfundingforhighereducationhasincreasedonlymarginally. Highereducation,asaproportion ofGDP,averaged0.88%between2002and 2007while,asaproportionoftotaleducationspending,ithasaveraged13.7%. StatefundingforuniversitiesisbasedonanassumedunitcostofKES120000 (aboutUSD1500)perstudent.Ofthisamount,thestateprovidesKES70000 (about USD 900), while the rest has to be provided by the student either through the publiclyfunded loan and bursary scheme or from other private sources. Statefundingconstitutesthebulkofuniversityincome,representingbetween 50 and 90% of total institutional revenue. Income from parallel, feepaying programmesconstitutesanaverage15%ofrevenue.TheUoNhasthehighest proportionofincomederivedfromfees,some40%. There is a variety of student finance schemes, ranging from full government sponsorships,agovernmentfundedloanandgrantschemeadministeredbythe HigherEducationLoansBoard,andprivatescholarshipsofvarioustypes. Typesofinstitutionsbyfundingstructures TheuniversitysubsectorinKenyacanbecategorisedintothreedistinctfinance structures: publiclyfinanced, privatelyfinanced, and a mix of publicprivate finance. The financing structure is closely tied to institutional type and ownership. However, there is a systematic move by public institutions to tap privatefunds,whileprivateinstitutionsalsoendeavourtoaccesspublicfunds. Ingeneral,publicinstitutionshavemorelatitudeinaccessingprivatefundsthan do private institutions in appropriating public funds. Purely public funding for highereducationisexemplifiedbytheyearlygovernmentallocationstopublic universities. Traditionally, public universities have received generous funding from the government; these funds have constituted the major sources of incomefortheseinstitutions. Education takes the bulk of the resources provided for the social sector (education, health, home affairs), accounting for up to 73% of the total social sectorbudget.Asaproportionoftotalgovernmentbudget,itisstillsignificant atabout27%and6.4%ofGDP. Theeducationbudgethasbeensteadilyrisingbetween2002/03and2006/07.It roseby14%fromKES63billioninthe2002/03financialyeartoKES72billionin 2003/04.Between2003/04and2004/05,therecurrentexpenditureallocations rose from KES 72 billion to KES 80 billion representing an 11% increase. Allocations have continued to rise to peak at KES 99.8 billion by 2006/07. In 2002/03, education took up 29.6% of the total budget but this had fallen to 23.7%by2006/07.
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Recurrentexpenditureallocationshavebeenrisingsteadily,increasingfromKES 61 billion during 2002/03 KES 68 billion in 2003/04 and KES 86 billion in 2005/06. Recurrent expenditures are substantially high in all the fiveyear allocationscomprisingover80%ofthetotalMinistryofEducationbudget.On theotherhand,developmentexpenditureallocationshaveremainedbelowthe KES10billionmark. Highereducationspending Funding for higher education increased marginally between 2002/03 and 2006/07.In2002/03,highereducationexpendituretookup11.5%ofthetotal Ministry of Education expenditure, rising to 13.8% in 2003/04 and 16.4% in 2005/06. This significant rise in higher education expenditure is attributed to theincreaseinlecturersalariesandhousingallowances.The2006/07financial year saw a substantial decline in higher education allocations in both volume and proportion. This was the result of a deliberate shift in policy to place greater focus on lower levels of education, and on new items such as quality assuranceacrossthesystem. Higher education spending as a proportion of GDP for the five years has averaged 0.9% while as a proportion of total education spending it has averaged 13.7%. The highest allocation occurred in 2004/05 when the respective proportions were 1.06% and 16.1%, while the lowest was 2002/03 (11.7%),increasinggraduallytopeakat16.1%during2005/06beforedeclining to14.4%during2006/07. Statefundingconstitutesthebulkofuniversitiesincome,representinganything between50to90%oftotalinstitutionalrevenues.Whilethetotalrevenuesof smallerpublicuniversitiesaremadeupalmostentirelyofgrantallocationsfrom government, for bigger public universities (with higher student numbers) capitation grants constitute lower proportions of their total revenue. This observation,arisesinpartfromthefactthatwhilethebiggerpublicuniversities (likeUoNandKenyattaUniversity)havecapacitiestoaccommodatemoreself sponsoredstudents,thesmallerinstitutions(e.g.MasenoandMasindeMuliro University of Science and Technology) have space, locational and structural constraintstoattractingsignificantnumbersofselfsponsoredstudentstoraise substantialprivaterevenues.Otherfactorsthatdiminishthegrantcapitationas aproportionoftotalrevenueincludedonorfundingtotheinstitutions.Income from Module II (selfsponsored) programmes constitutes an average of 15%, although the actual proportions vary significantly between institutions. As statedearlier,theUoNhasthehighestproportionofitsincomebeingderived from the Module II programmes at an average of 40%, while Masinde Muliro UniversityofScienceandTechnologyhasthelowestat7.7%. Financingprivateuniversities There has been a phenomenal growth in the number of private universities, from just three in 1980 to 18 in 2007. This contrasts with only seven public
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universitiesforover40years.Whilepublicuniversitiesgetdirectfundingfrom the state, private universities depend on endowments, tuition fees and direct funding from founders and sponsors. While public universities are highly subsidisedbythestate,privateuniversitieshavetorecovermostoftheircosts from instruction and other services such as hostel accommodation. As expected,thishasmadetheseuniversitiesnotablyexpensivecomparedtothe publicinstitutions.Theonlyformofpublicfundingfortheseuniversitiescomes in the form of student loans. However, this is notably small compared to the amounts received by public universities. Lack of public funding for private universities partly stems from the legal definition of public and private universities. According to the law, a private university means a university establishedwithfundsotherthanpublicfunds,whileapublicuniversitymeans auniversitymaintainedorassistedoutofpublicfunds. Privateuniversitystudentspaytuitionthatisonaverage11timeshigherthan that of students in governmentallysupported programmes in public universities.Thehighfeelevelsarenotduetoanyspecialcoursesoffered,but duetotheprofitmotiveoftheseinstitutions,includingthereligiousinstitutions, andalsothefactthatthepublicuniversityeducationisheavilysubsidisedbythe state. An important question is whether the high fees in private universities are inhibiting access and equity. Moreover, access to higher education is already inequitable because the rich have a higher representation in secondary level education. In Kenya, the introduction of the Module II programmes in public universities has effectively introduced an element of crosssubsidisation with the income from these programmes being used to improve facilities that are sharedbyboththeregularandModuleIIprogrammes.Theprivateinstitutions thereforechargefeesthatnotonlyreflecttheactualcostofofferinguniversity educationbuttheyarealsomeanttogeneratesurplusfunds. Whilethepublicuniversitysectorseemsunabletoenrolmorestudentsbecause of limited capacity (an argument which, however, does not hold considering that the institutions limit admission in the regular programme but open the selfsponsoredprogrammes,raisingthequestionofwheretheextracapacity comes from), private universities are closed to many who aspire to higher education because of the inability to pay. This means that the capacity in private universities is underutilised, much as maintaining low enrolment is in linewithincreasingteacherstudentinteraction,oneofthemethodspresumed toassurequality.Itisalsotruethatamajorityofprivateuniversitiesaredriven by a profit motive, meaning that they have to strike a balance between maintainingarealisticnumberofstudentswhileattractingmorefundsthrough increasing enrolment. The extent to which the universities have succeeded in doingthishasnotbeeninvestigatedsofarandremainslargelyunknown.
2.2.3 Highereducationgovernanceandpolicy
The Ministry of Education is the main agent in policy formulation, implementation, evaluation and regulation of the system. The Commission on
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HigherEducation(CHE)wasestablishedin1985,underanActofParliament,to be responsible for the planning, budgeting and financing of universities; accreditation and supervision; the coordination of postsecondary education and training; the recognition of qualifications from other countries; and the documentationofinformationonhighereducation. CHE regulates the establishment of universities based on benchmarks on admission requirements, programme length, qualification levels, qualifications of staff, enrolments, infrastructural facilities, and ethical standards governing university members. CHE is also the state body that presides over matters of qualityassuranceinprivateuniversities, awardslettersofinterimauthorityto new private universities and their eventual confirmation as chartered institutions.AlthoughCHEsadministrativemandateisfunctionallyrestrictedto the regulation of private universities, statutorily the commission should regulatetheentirehighereducationsystemincludingpublicuniversities. Thekeypolicydocumentsrelatingtoeducation,scienceandtechnologyduring thepastdecadehavebeenthefollowing: The Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP) 20052010 (MEST 2005), TheMinistryofHigherEducation,ScienceandTechnologyStrategicPlan2008 2012(MHEST2008),and TheScience,TechnologyandInnovationBill(MHEST2009). TheKenyaEducationSectorSupportProgramme(KESSP)(20052010) The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) adopted a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) to ensure the delivery of educational services to the learnerinthemosteffectiveandefficientmanner.SinceJune2004,theMEST hasbeenworkingwithawiderangeofstakeholdersintheeducationsectorto developaSWApforthedevelopmentoftheeducationsectorinKenyaforthe 20052010period(MEST2005:i). The overall aim of the education sector SWAp was to develop and secure fundingfortheKESSP,whichwouldbethebasisuponwhichthegovernment, MEST, individuals, communities, the private sector, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and development partners would jointly support the educationsectorfortheperiod.ThroughSWAp,duplicationandinefficientuse of resources, which often occurs when many projects and programmes are implemented without a clear longterm sectorwide development strategy, wouldbesignificantlyreduced.Thiswasexpectedtoensurethattheresources would be invested in programmes that would deliver an equitable quality educationandtrainingtoallKenyans(ibid.). KESSPwasdevelopedtohelpthegovernmenttoachievethefollowingtargets asoutlinedintheSessionalPaperof2005(ibid.:iiiiv): Attainuniversalprimaryeducationby2005andeducationforallby2015;
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Achievea transitionrateof70%fromprimarytosecondary schoollevelfrom thecurrentrateof47%,payingspecialattentiontogirlseducationby2008; Enhanceaccess,equityandqualityinprimaryandsecondaryeducationthrough capacitybuildingfor45000educationmanagersby2005; Construct/renovatephysicalfacilities/equipmentinpubliclearninginstitutions indisadvantagedareas,particularlyinaridandsemiaridlandsandurbanslums by2008; Develop a national training strategy for TIVET in 2005, and ensure that these institutionsareappropriatelyfundedandequippedby2008; Achieve50%improvementinlevelsofadultliteracyby2010;and Expandpublicuniversitiestohaveacapacityofatleast5000studentseachby 2015 and increase the proportion of all students studying sciencerelated coursesto50%,withatleastonethirdofthesebeingwomenbytheyear2010. TheMHESTStrategicPlan(20082012) According to the strategic plan, with regard to the development of a national innovation system, the Ministrys efforts will be directed at the following (MHEST2008:3): Ensuring thatKenyahasaset ofinstitutions,organisationsand policieswhich giveeffecttothevariousfunctionsofanationalsystemofinnovation; Building capacities and capabilities of the institutions, organisations and performancesystemsforanefficientsystemofinnovation; Ensuringthatthereareinteractionsamongandwithinallsectorsandactorsin theeconomy;and Harmonisingthenationalsystemofinnovationwiththegoalsandobjectivesof Vision2030. Keyelementsoftheproposedinnovationsystemincludethefollowing(ibid.:47): The correlation of demand for STI to the structure of the economy. As the Kenyaneconomymovesintoaneraofhighgrowth,itisrecognisedthatthere willbeneedfornewandbetterhumanresourceskillsandtechnologiesfocused onmakingbusinessandproductionprocessmoreefficientandeffective. Educationandresearcharerecognisedasimportantdeterminantsoftheability tocreateaknowledgebasedeconomy. The business system (private sector, key economic sectors) is critical to the processofacquiringandutilisingSTIfornationaldevelopment. Intermediate organisations (e.g. universities, research institutions) are developers and transmitters of knowledge between business systems, on the onehand,andtheeducation,trainingandresearchsystem,ontheother. InfrastructureisakeyfoundationuponwhichSTIactivitiesareoperationalised. Frameworkconditionsrelatingtoregulatoryandfacilitativepoliciesfollowedin shapingtheperformanceofthenationalinnovationsystemarecritical.
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MHEST would therefore adopt a new innovation system to ensure that the education and research system, the business system, the intermediate organisations, as well as the STI infrastructure and framework conditions in whichtheyoperateinteractdynamicallyandrespondtothenationalneeds. TheMHESTstrategicplanoutlinesthefollowingstrategicobjectives(ibid.:2526): Tostrengthentechnicalcapabilitiesandcapabilities Todevelophighskilledhumanresources Tointensifyinnovationinprioritysectors ToimproveSTIawareness ToincreaseaccessandequityinhighereducationandinTIVET ToimprovethequalityofhighereducationandTIVET Tostrengthenthecorporategovernancemanagementframework TheScience,TechnologyandInnovationBill(2009) The Science, Technology and Innovation Bill establishes institutions and policy guidelinesthatprovideforthefollowing(MHEST2009:ii): The promotion of research, science, technology and innovation for national socioeconomicdevelopment; Generation of advice, harmonisation, coordination and dissemination of policiesforresearch,science,technologyandinnovation; The promotion and coordination of technology acquisition, adaptation and diffusion into national development processes; and the development of mechanisms for the promotion and utilisation of innovations in the country; and Mobilisation,managementanddisbursementoffundsforscience,technology andinnovation. The institutions that are to be created through the Bill include the following (ibid.:iii): The Kenya National Acquisition Office for the promotion and coordination of technologyacquisition,adaptationanddiffusion; The National Innovation Agency for stimulating and intensifying technological innovationandinventioninordertoimproveeconomicgrowthandthequality oflifeforallKenyans; The National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation whose mandate is to provide for the generation of advice, harmonisation, coordination and dissemination of policies for research, science, and technology;thepromotionofresearch,science,technologyandinnovationfor nationalsocioeconomicdevelopment. The Kenya National Research Foundation whose key functions are the mobilisation,managementanddisbursementoffundsfor science,technology andinnovationactivitiesincludingfundsforhumanresourcedevelopmentand
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the provision of the necessary research facilities in order to facilitate the creationofknowledge,innovationanddevelopmentinallfieldsofscienceand technology, including indigenous knowledge and thereby to contribute to the improvementofthequalityoflifeofallKenyans.
2.3
TheUniversityofNairobi

2.3.1 Keymomentsinthedevelopmentoftheinstitution4
The origins of the University of Nairobi trace back to 1947, when the colonial government of the time drew up a plan seeking to establish a technical and commercial institute in Nairobi. In 1949, the plan grew to include an East African concept aimed at providing higher technical education for the three territories(Kenya,UgandaandTanzania)ofEastAfrica.Itwasin1951thatthis concept received a Royal Charter, under the name of the Royal Technical CollegeofEastAfrica. The Royal Technical College of East Africa finally opened its doors to the first intake of students (Alevel graduates for technical courses) in April 1956. A workingpartyestablishedinJuly1958recommended,amongotherthings,that through a process of reconstruction and addition of appropriate facilities, the College be transformed into the second InterTerritorial University College in East Africa. The East African governments accepted the recommendation and on25June1961,theRoyalTechnicalCollegewastransformedintothesecond universitycollegeofEastAfrica,underthenameRoyalCollegeNairobi. During this time, the University College prepared students in the faculties of Arts, Science and Engineering for the BA and BSc general degrees of the UniversityofLondon.StudentsintheFacultyofArtsandArchitectureandthe FacultyofSpecialProfessionalStudies(laterrenamedtheFacultyofCommerce) continued to work either for a college diploma or for the qualifications of professional bodies such as the Royal Institute of Chartered Institute of Secretaries.Atthesametime,theDepartmentofDomesticSciencehadentered into a Special Relation Scheme with the University of Manchester in 1959. In 1962, the Faculty of Veterinary Science was transferred from Makerere University College to the Royal College Nairobi. In 1963, the ExtraMural Studies, which had hitherto been organised in Kenya by Makerere, was also transferredtotheRoyalCollegeNairobi.Atthesametime,theCollegeofSocial Studies (Kikuyu), which had been an independent centre for residential adult educationsince1961,wasabsorbedintothecollege.Thismadeitpossiblefor the creation of the Institute of Adult Studies in 1963, comprising the two departments.
The information in this section was provided by Mr Samuel Kiiru as part of the background informationoftheinstitution(Kiiru2009).
4
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With such positive developments, the Royal College Nairobi was renamed University College of Nairobi on 20 May 1964. In 1966, the Institute of Adult StudieswasrenamedAdultStudiesCentreandin1967itgotathirddepartment in the form of a Radio/Correspondence Course Unit. In 1965, the Institute for Development Studies was established with two divisions: social science and culturalstudies.Whilethesocialsciencedivisionundertookresearchforvarious government ministries and pursued fundamental research in East African, particularly Kenyan, economic problems, the cultural studies division carried out research into the Kenyan cultural heritage. The cultural division was separated from the institute and set up as a distinct unit during the 1970/71 academic year. It later became the Institute for African Studies and started offeringadegreecourseinAnthropologyin1989. In1967,theFacultyofMedicinewasestablishedandadmitteditsfirstbatchof students. Based at Chiromo, for its preclinical teaching, the facultys clinical work is carried out in Kenyatta National Hospital, at the College of Health Sciences,itselfcreatedin1985.FollowingtheFacultyofMedicinein1967,the Faculties of Agriculture in upper Kabete and Law in the main campus were establishedinJuly1970.Inthesameyear,aFacultyofEducationwascreated outofthepreviousDepartmentofEducation.Thefacultywaslatertransferred to Kenyatta University College (a constituent college by then) in September 1972. InApril1970,theSchoolofJournalismwasinaugurated.Theschoolstartedoff offering a twoyear programme in journalism. The work on the school had started in 1963 and was created with assistance from the International Press Institute, the Ministry of Education and UNESCO. In the same year, the DepartmentofPhilosophyandReligiousStudieswasestablishedintheFaculty of Arts, and other departments were established from larger departments, including Fine Art and Design, Medical Physiology and Medical Biochemistry, andVeterinaryPhysiologyandVeterinaryBiochemistry. All this time, except for students in the Department of Domestic Science and LandDevelopment,whosequalificationswereobtainedfromtheUniversityof Manchesterorprofessionalbodies,studentscontinuedtoworkforthedegrees oftheUniversityofLondon.TheUniversityofEastAfricawasdissolvedon1July 1970andthethreecountriessetuptheirownnationaluniversitiesoutofthe threetechnicalcollegesoftheUniversityofEastAfrica.Consequently,theUoN was officially inaugurated on 10 December 1970. This was followed by the establishmentofadditionaldepartmentssuchasbiochemistryintheFacultyof Science; and pharmacology and toxicology in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Working closely with the East African Community, the university established a meteorological research institute. The institute comprised two departments:oneattheUoNandtheotherattheEastAfricanMeteorological DepartmentinDagoreti,Nairobi. The departments of Pharmacy and Dentistry were established in 1974 and elevatedtofacultystatusin1996withintheCollegeofHealthSciences.In1974, the Department of Biochemistry was set up as a service department for all
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scienceoriented faculties. For administrative purposes, the department was housedattheFacultyofMedicine. Theuniversityhassincethenwitnessedfurthergrowthand,in1983,underwent amajorrestructuringresultingindecentralisationoftheadministration.Today, the UoN has the following six campus colleges, each of which is headed by a principal: College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences situated at Upper Kabete Campus CollegeofArchitectureandEngineeringsituatedattheMainCampus CollegeofBiologicalandPhysicalSciencessituatedatChiromoCampus CollegeofEducationandExternalStudiessituatedatKikuyuCampus CollegeofHealthSciencessituatedattheKenyattaNationalHospital CollegeofHumanitiesandSocialSciencessituatedattheMainCampus Italsohastwentyfacultiesincludingagriculture,arts,veterinarymedicine,law, medicine, biological sciences, business, computing and informatics, continuing and distance education, dental sciences, economics, education, engineering, journalism,mathematics,nursingsciences,pharmacy,artsanddesign,andbuilt environment. In addition to the Kenya Science Campus and the Board of PostgraduateStudies,thereareanumberofcentresandinstitutes:Centrefor Biotechnology and Bioinformatics; Centre for Open and Distance Learning; CentreforHIVPreventionandResearch;CentreforInternationalProgrammes andLinks;InstituteforDevelopmentStudies;InstituteofAnthropology,Gender and African Studies; Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology; Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies; Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (Kenya Science Campus); and the Population Studies and Research Institute. In summary, since 1970, the UoN has seen many innovations which have contributed to its development and that of the nation. It has grown from a facultybased university serving a student population of 2 768 (2 584 undergraduate and 184 graduate students), to a collegefocused university servingaround39000studentsinthe2008/09academicyear,andwithover75 departments and over 4 200 courses, offered to both undergraduate and graduate students. To attain this level of educational progress has been no small feat. Some of the major milestones covered in the expansion of the universityinclude: Mushroomingofacademicprogrammesinthe1970s; Establishmentofcampusbasedcollegesin1985; Firstdoubleintakein1986; Property acquisition resulting in Lower Kabete and Parklands Campuses in 1988; Theintakeofthefirststudentsundertakingtheuniversitycomponentofthe8 44educationalsystemin1990;and IntroductionoftheModuleIIandparttimeprogrammesin1998.
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The university's development has been as broad as its current scope is wide. From a humble beginning as a technical college to the status of a major international teaching and research institution, the UoN has trained and producedmorehumanresourcesthananyotherinstitutionofhigherlearningin Kenya, with alumni of over 40 000 graduates to its credit. As an institution of higherlearning,theUoNhascontributedgreatlytothedevelopmentofKenya. Apart from teaching, the university contributes to research and consultancy services in various fields in the country and the region. In addition, the universitytakespartincommunityprogrammesandactivitiesaspartofitscore functions.
2.3.2 Governanceandstrategicobjectives
The university is led by a vicechancellor, three deputy vicechancellors (for AdministrationandFinance,forAcademicAffairs,andforStudentAffairs)and anAcademicRegistrar,aswellastheprincipalsofconstituentcolleges,deansof facultiesanddirectorsofcentres.KeygovernancebodiesincludetheUniversity Council, the University Senate and the University Management Board. The latterisresponsiblefor: Thecoordinationofuniversityandcollegedevelopmentplans; The efficient management of university resources, both human and material; and Making proposals to the Council and the Senate on policies that have a universitywideapplication. TheuniversitysvisionistobeAworldclassuniversitycommittedtoscholarly excellence.ItsmissionisToprovidequalityuniversityeducationandtraining andtoembodytheaspirationsoftheKenyanpeopleandtheglobalcommunity through creation, preservation, integration, transmission and utilisation of knowledge. The current strategic plan (UoN 2008a), which covers the period 20082013, includesthefollowingstrategicissuesandobjectives: Teachingandlearning: Objective 1: To offer innovative academic programmes with inbuilt quality assurance. Objective2:Tonurtureacademicprogrammestoworldclassstatus. Objective3:Toactivelypromotediversifiedmodesofdelivery. Innovation,researchanddevelopment,andconsultancy: Objective 4: To create an enabling environment and policy framework that promotesresearch,developmentandothervalueaddingservices. Governance,leadershipandmanagement:
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Objective 5: To develop a governance system that effectively serves the university. Objective6:Torealiseavisionary,innovativeleadershipandmanagementthat isvisible,openandtransparent. Humanresources: Objective7:Toattract,developandmaintainhighcalibre,qualifiedstaff. Objective 8: To strengthen and sustain implementation of gender, margi nalisation,HIV/Aidsanddisabilitypolicies. Infrastructure,informationandcommunicationtechnology,andlibraryservices: Objective 9: To provide and maintain adequate state of the art infrastructure thatsupportsthecorefunctionsoftheuniversity. Objective10:To maximisestudentandstaffproductivityandservicedelivery, enhance teaching and learning and improve quality of research through informationandcommunicationtechnology. Partnershipsandlinkages: Objective11:Tostrengthentheexistingpartnershipsandlinkagesanddevelop newones. Finance: Objective12:Torealiseincreasedrevenueandfiscalhealth. Studentaffairs: Objective13:Toproduceholisticgraduates. Image: Objective14:Topromoteauniversitybrandwhichembodiestheconcernsand aspirationsofthestakeholdersanduniversalvalues. Table 2.7 shows that the government allocation to the UoN almost doubled fromUSD25206715in1999/2000toUSD48363393in2006/2007.
2.3.3 Institutionalfinances
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Table2.7:UniversityofNairobigovernmentallocation(1999/002006/07) Year 1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 Governmentallocations (KES) 1480440764 2047503589 1634322024 1899017714 1970459432 2675862503 2675862492 3303655000 Governmentincomein USD 25206715 33917597 23239229 24929344 25081265 34045352 36406292 48363393 Conversionrate 58.7KES=1USD 60.4KES=1USD 70.3KES=1USD 76.2KES=1USD 78.6KES=1USD 78.6KES=1USD 73.5KES=1USD 68.3KES=1USD
As can be seen from Figure 2.1 below, the proportion of income from state allocations has declined from 76% in 1999/2000 to 55% in 2005/2006. At the sametime,therehasbeenaconsiderableincreaseintheproportionofincome fromincomegeneratingunitstoalmostathird(29%)in2005/2006.Itisquite likelythatthisisfundinggeneratedthroughthemodule2(private,feepaying) academicprogrammesaswellasotherincomegenerationsuchasconsultancy work. A few institutional leaders made reference to the development of an internal fund, based on the income derived from module 2 courses, which is usedtofundresearchandpriorityskillscourses,amongstotherthings.Another key source of additional income for the university is the University of Nairobi Enterprises and Services (UNES) Ltd. Established in 1996, UNES is mandated with promoting and coordinating incomegenerating activities for the university. Currently, it generates income through consultancy work, and the management of bookshops and restaurants and has plans to extend its operationstothemanagementofconferencefacilities.
Figure2.1:Incomebysourceasapercentageoftotalincome,UniversityofNairobi(20002006)
90%
82%
80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30%
76% 72% 67% 62% 59% 55%
State allocations
Tuition and other fees Service units

27% 21% 29%
20% 10% 0%
15% 8% 1% 0% 11% 6% 1% 0% 12% 8% 7% 2%
16% 9% 6% 2% 9% 5% 2% 8% 5% 2% 9% 5% 2%
Accomodation, catering and other income Transfers from income generating units
1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06
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Part3
TheroleofhighereducationinKenya
ATAGLANCE
Keynationalhighereducationstakeholders Roleofhighereducationinnationalpolicies Policycoordinationinthehighereducationsector Institutionalnarrativesontheroleoftheuniversity Policies,structuresandappointments Researchfunding Researchagenda Linkageswiththelabourmarket
3.1
Introduction
Aswashighlightedinsection1.1.3,theexistenceofapactbetweennational andinstitutionalstakeholders,aswellasexternalstakeholderssuchasindustry andforeigndonors,ontheroleofhighereducationisakeyfactorintheextent towhichuniversitiesareabletomakeasustainedcontributiontodevelopment. A pact was defined as a fairly longterm cultural, socioeconomic and political understandingandcommitmentbetweenuniversities,politicalauthoritiesand society at large of the identity or vision of universities, what is expected of universities, and what the rules and values of the universities are. For the purposes of this study, our interest is in exploring the general nature of the pact, and then the extent to which there is a role for higher education in economicdevelopmentinthepact. We begin our analysis of the nature and extent of a pact in Kenya by consideringthenotions(s)oftheroleofhighereducationfromtheperspective of the national authorities and the institutional stakeholders at the UoN. This includes an investigation of the ways in which both national and institutional stakeholderstalkaboutdevelopmentandtheroleofhighereducation,whether and how these notions are articulated in relevant policy documents, and the extenttowhichspecificstructureshavebeenestablishedtogiveexpressionto theintentofthepolicies.Italsoincludesalookattheextenttowhichmatters pertainingtohighereducationarecoordinatedacrossnationalauthorities,and between national authorities, higher education institutions (with a specific focusonUoN)andkeyexternalstakeholders.
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3.2
Thenationalperspective

3.2.1 Keynationalstakeholdersinrelationtothepact
The key stakeholders in relation to the pact for higher education and developmentarethefollowing: OfficeofthePresident,responsibleforcrosscuttingpolicydevelopment; Ministry of Education responsible, amongst other things, for improving schoolinginbothitsquantitativeandqualitativedimensions; Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology responsible for policy developmentinbothhighereducationandscienceandtechnology,andthekey driverofinnovationandparticipationintheknowledgeeconomy;and TheCommissiononHigherEducation,responsibleforqualityassuranceacross thehighereducationsystem,amongstotherthings,butclearlyoperatingwell belowitspotentialatthecurrenttime. Kenya Vision 2030 is the key policy document outlining the role of higher education in development. Some key features of Vision 2030, with particular relevance to higher education and economic development, are described below. Firstly,Vision2030proposesintensifiedapplicationofSTItoraiseproductivity andefficiencylevelsacrossthethreepillars(economic,socialandpolitical)(GRK 2007: 89). It recognises the critical role played by research and development (R&D) in accelerating economic development in all the newlyindustrialising countriesoftheworld.Accordingtothevision,thegovernmentwillcreateand implement an STI policy framework to support Vision 2030. In addition, more resources will be devoted to scientific research, technical capabilities of the workforce and in raising the quality of teaching mathematics, science and technologyinschools,polytechnicsanduniversities. Secondly,intermsofhumanresourcesdevelopment,theVision2030document statesthatKenyaintendstocreateagloballycompetitiveandadaptivehuman resource base to meet the requirements of a rapidly industrialising economy (ibid.:9).Thiswillbedonethroughlifelongtrainingandeducation.Asapriority, a human resource database will be established to facilitate better planning of humanresourcesrequirementsinthecountry.Furthermore,stepswillbetaken toraiselabourproductivitytointernationallevels.Otherstepswillincludethe establishment of new technical training institutions, as well as the enhancementofclosercollaborationbetweenindustryandtraininginstitutions. Finally,inrelationtoeducationandtraining,Vision2030statesthatKenyawill provide globally competitive quality education, training and research to her citizens for development and enhanced wellbeing (ibid.: 16). The overall goal
3.2.2 Theroleofhighereducationinnationalpolicies
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for2012istoreduceilliteracybyincreasingaccesstoeducation,improvingthe transition rate from primary to secondary schools, and raising the quality and relevance of education. The goals in this regard include the integration of all specialneedseducationintolearningandtraininginstitutions,achievingan80% adultliteracyrate,increasingtheschoolenrolmentrateto95%;andincreasing thetransitionratestotechnicalinstitutionsanduniversitiesfrom3%to8%by 2012.Publicandprivateuniversitieswillbeencouragedtoexpandenrolment, with an emphasis on science and technology courses. Kenya also intends to haveinternationalrankingforitschildrensachievementinmaths,scienceand technology. The specific strategies will involve integrating early childhood education into primary education; reforming secondary curricula; modernising teacher training;and,strengtheningpartnershipswiththeprivatesector(ibid.). Kenya will also develop key programmes for learners with special needs, rejuvenate ongoing adult training programmes, and revise the curricula of university and technical institutes by including more science and technology subjects. In partnership with the private sector, the government will increase fundingtoenablealltheseinstitutionstosupportactivitiesenvisagedunderthe economic pillars. Kenya aims to be a regional centre of research and developmentinnewtechnologies. The flagship education and training projects for 2012 include the following (ibid.): To build and fully equip 560 new secondary schools to accommodate the increasingnumberofstudentsgraduatingfromprimaryschools; To establish a teachers recruitment programme to employ 28 000 more teachers to improve the quality of education and to ensure that all schools haveadequateteachers; To establish a computer supply programme that will equip students with moderninformationtechnologyskills; To build at least one boarding primary school in each constituency in the pastoraldistrictstoensurethatlearningisnotdisruptedaspeoplemovefrom oneplacetoanother; Torolloutthevouchersystemprogrammeinfivepoordistricts;and TocreateCentresofSpecialisationforeachofVision2030seconomicgrowth sectors. Insummary,thepolicyframeworkforensuringthathighereducationcanplay an important role in development is in place. In addition, there is a clear recognition of the importance of science and technology for stimulating innovation and participation in the knowledge economy. However, key indicatorsrelatingtosuchmeasuresascompetitivenessandinnovationsuggest that the country has a long way to go to ensuring that the noble policy intentions of government are translated into effective implementation and outcomes.
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3.2.3 Governanceandpolicycoordination
In the higher education sector, it is evident that the creation of a Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology represents a positive development for both governance and policy coordination across the two critical elements vital for the development of a knowledge economy, namely higher education and science and technology. However, the policy coordination links across development (economic development policymaking specifically) and higher education are, at best, weak and, at this stage, only exemplified in policy documentssuchasKenyaVision2030.
3.3
TheUniversityofNairobiperspective

3.3.1 Institutionalnarrative(s)ontheroleoftheuniversity
Thepreviousuniversitystrategicplan(20052010),whichreferstoteachingand learning as the core business of the university, makes reference to the important role for the university in producing human resources for national development(UoN2005:40): A University plays a pivotal role in national development by equipping human resource with relevant knowledge, skills and valuesystems.TheUniversityofNairobiisendowedintermsof humancapitalanddiversifiedacademicprogrammesandmust thereforeplayaleadingroleingenerationanddisseminationof relevantknowledgeinordertomeetdevelopmentalchallenges ofthe21stCenturyandbeyond. An institutional leader pointed to the historical role of the university in producing human capital for development, and how the university has subsequently responded to new development challenges through the review and updating of curricula. He said that today it is possible to see UoN alumni makingdirectcontributionstodevelopmentinvarioussectors: I think really right from the beginning, this being the first nationaluniversity,thefocushadbeentoplayaleadingrolein providing the necessary human capital for driving this nation. Andyouwillseethenfromthe60sthegovernmentgavesucha mandate to this university to train the critical manpower; not onlytotakeoverthepositionsthattheforeignerswereleaving, goingback,butalsotodrivedevelopment.Sofromeconomists tomedics,thatwasthemainmandateforthisuniversity.[...]I will say of course times have changed and the challenges of developmenthavebecomeevenmorecritical,andthatswhere now you start seeing really our review of curriculums and the
35
various areas of training to accommodate these new changes, toaccommodatenewthinking.Intermsofcontributionyouwill realisethatatcurrentratewehavegraduatedover100000,it will be 110 000 alumni of the University of Nairobi in all key sectors;theyreactuallyoccupyingvirtuallyallkeysectorsofthe economy. [...] If you look at the critical role of government in terms of planning, weve got University of Nairobi alumni contributinginthesekeysectorshealth,economyandsoon. (Institutionalleader) Thisemphasisontheroleoftheuniversityinproducingimportantskillsforthe economywasechoedbyanotherinstitutionalleader.Healsohintedathowthe World Bank policy of focusing on primary rather than tertiary education in Africa led to a decline in support by the government for higher education in Kenya: I really want to emphasise that I do believe that higher education is very important for development, whether you are talking about economic development or social development or politicaldevelopment,Ibelievehighereducationhasabigrole to play. One thing is that if you look at what has been happeninginthiscountrythereisatimewhentherewasashift in emphasis, especially when I think with the advice of the WorldBankand[InternationalMonetaryFund],whentheytried tosayitsbettertoputmoreresourcesinbasiceducationand followed by secondary education. And in fact they almost de emphasised putting resources in higher education. [...] I have alwaysbeensayingveryopenlythatthereisnowayreallyyou cansaythatdevelopmentcanbesupportedbypeoplewhohave basic education, say, primary and secondary education. Because if you look at the kind of manpower that we need in both the public and private sector, a university education, particularly undergraduate education, is almost compulsory. I dont think you can really argue otherwise. I have seen some ministersnowsayingthatevenifyoudonthaveadegreeyou can still do very well. But that is at the higher level. But the technical jobs, really, you know, people like accountants, lawyers, doctors we need university education. (Institutional leader) Thecurrentstrategicplan(UoN2008a:2)alsoreferstoteachingandlearningas thecorebusinessoftheuniversity.Innovation,researchanddevelopmentare describedaskeystrategicissuesthattheUniversitymustaddressinorderto remain relevant in its pursuit to extend the frontiers of knowledge (ibid.: 3). Interestingly, consultancy is seen as the area of the universitys activities that hasgreatpotential...tocontributetowardsnationaldevelopment(ibid.).
36
Thereisnomentionoftheknowledgeeconomyinthecurrentstrategicplan.It is,however,mentionedinvariouscontextsinthepreviousstrategicplan(2005 2010). For instance, in the discussion of the opportunities available to the university, the plan makes reference to a strong worldwide move towards knowledge based economies [and] demand for knowledge driven consultancies (UoN 2005: 7). Reference is made again later in relation to changesintheeconomywheretheemphasisisonthedemandstheknowledge economycreatesintermsofteachingandlearning(ibid.:1819): The increasing sophistication of the economy itself is demandingmoreskilledpersonneltomeettheneedsofamore enlightened market. The global trend is that knowledgebased andvalueaddingeconomicactivitiesareincreasinglybecoming the stimuli of economic growth. Consequently, national economies are relying on higher knowledge in order to retain and expand their economic niches and competitiveness at the national andglobalarenas. Thesetechnologicaladvancesnow require an ever adaptive, more strategically agile and sophisticated work force. Employers are demanding that workers should possess increased technical expertise and enhanced abilities to learn new skills as new technologies emerge. There is also reference to the role of postgraduate training and institutional research activities in relation to the development of a knowledge economy (ibid.:42): Research is the principal activity, which distinguishes a Universityfrom othertertiaryinstitutions.Itisanintegralpart ofteachingatundergraduateandpostgraduatelevels.Through research, new knowledge is generated, refinedand utilisedfor socioeconomicbettermentofthesociety.Itplaysavitalrolein rural and industrial transformation, economic growth and creationofemploymentopportunities. University of Nairobi has diverse capacities and graduate training programmes which should be refocused to address national developmental challenges and the Millennium Development Goals for improved livelihoods. To achieve this, the University will embark on a dedicated effort to build capacity with a strong orientation towards problem solving research. This approach will strengthen the capacity of the University for building endogenous innovation systems to generate and sustain scientific and technological development inallsectorsintheknowledgebasedglobaleconomy.Thusthe
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Universitys capacity in the discovery and development of knowledgewillberaised. Oneinstitutionalstakeholderarguedthatwhatexactlytheroleoftheuniversity isorshouldbeiscurrentlynotclear: All African universities went through phase one, a separation fromthemetropolitaninstitution,theUniversityofNairobifrom theUniversityofLondon,andMakerere fromtheUniversityof London that international phase; and that was consolidated bythelate1960s.Atthesametimetherewasasimultaneous phase of universities for manpower development; they were part of the Africanisation programme. Then the alienation phasewhendictatorshipsetin.Thenarenewalthatwerenow seeing. But under the new renewal its not clear whether the universities are renewing themselves as inwardlooking, efficiencyguided institutions for internal efficiency, or its renewal in order to go to a new phase of linkages of relationshipwiththestate,eitherfordemocratisationpurposes or for development purposes, that is the developmental institutions, hopefully without separating development from democracy.Thishasnottakenplace,andsoitisarenewalfor what?Thestatelooksattherenewalintermsoftheinstitutions becomingselfsufficient.Butthatdoesnotaddressthequestion of:afterthat,forwhat?Wecanchurnoutdegrees,theycanbe fast, they can be very good degrees or they can be very bad degrees butfor what? So whatneedsto bedebatediswhat now universities should do in the new dispensation of democratic entrenchment, and whether we can be the new stimulus for rehabilitating growth and development. Some of the work we are doing is related to that because we are not really interested in the internal aspects of the institutions, but wewanteventuallytoaskthebiggerquestions:oncewehave becomeinternallyefficient,thenwhat?(Senioracademic) Finally,someinstitutionalstakeholders reportedthatmanyacademics,from a range of disciplines, had been involved in the development of the national KenyaVision2030document.Onerespondentheldacontraryview,however: Wewerenotinvolved[inthedevelopmentofVision2030]aswe should have been. The ideas sketched by some fellows in governmentbutatnopointdidIhearthecommunityofhigher education called to debate openly 2030, because 2030 was conceivedwithinthebureaucracywithinapoliticalatmosphere. Therefore,inmyview,itsstillinasketchyformandwevenot
38
hadourinputasfarasIcantell,andweshouldhaveaconstant inputin2030.(Senioracademic) Interestingly,thereisnospecificroleforuniversitiesidentifiedinthedocument, asthisrespondenthighlighted: Ofcoursethe2030Visionhasbeenthere,but[...]therewasnt a very clear involvement of universities to just see how they shouldreallycontributetowardstherealisationoftheVision.So it has been left to the universities to interpret what is it that theyshoulddo.AndIbelieveverystronglythatatsomepointin time the people who are implementing the 2030 Vision must reallyhavesomesessionswiththeuniversities,sothatthereisa veryclearunderstandingoftheroleoftheuniversitiesinterms of realising the 2030 Vision. Right now if I tell it will be my personalinterpretation.(Institutionalleader)
3.3.2 Initiativesaroundresearchandinnovation
Institutionalpolicies,structuresandappointments The universitys research policy (UoN 2008b) placesconsiderable emphasis on theroleofresearchfordevelopment.Forinstance,thepreambletothepolicy makes reference to the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP) and,inparticular,theNationalStrategyforUniversityEducationreformprocess whichemphasisesthecreationofacultureofinnovationthroughacquisition, creation and application of knowledge (ibid.: iv). Here, the strategic goal for universitiesrelatesdirectlytodevelopment:Toimprovequalityandrelevance of learning through research for socioeconomic transformation of society (ibid.). Then, in the background section, the policy refers to the Ministry of Educationsreformstrategyforuniversities(ibid.:v): The Kenya Ministry of Education, in its reform strategy has emphasised the crucial role that Universities can play in promotingScience,TechnologyandInnovationandInformation andCommunicationTechnologies(ICT)allofwhichareessential in providing Kenya with the essential competitive edge in the knowledge economy. The Universitys responsibility is to also advise and inform, through research, the Ministry and other governmentInstitutions,onvariouspressingcurrentissuesand concerns connected to sustainable development, such as the environment,includingdwindlingnaturalresources. Theresearchpolicyalsotalksabouttheroleofresearchinimprovingnational productivity(ibid.:2):
39
Forexample,theexistingpolicyandpracticalgapsthatunderlie the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be adequately addressed without recourse to authenticated data and research findings. Furthermore the improvement of national productivity cannot afford to ignore environmental, global concerns, such as climate change and their impact on foodsecurity. The strategic objectives of the research policy mostly focus on strengthening theacademiccoreoftheuniversityintermsofresearchoutputs(postgraduates andresearchpublications)butalsomakereferencetotheneedtostrengthen collaboration with industry in terms of contributing towards economic development goals.The strategic objectives ofthe research policy include the following(ibid.:4): Transformtheuniversityintotheleadingcentreforresearch; Initiate and strengthen collaborative research with national, regional and internationalinstitutions; Enhance the profile of the university through numerous, top quality journal publications,researchcitationsandresearchawards; Implement thriving postgraduate programmes and maintain a ratio of postgraduatetoundergraduatestudentsofonetothree;and Collaborate with industry in knowledge management, innovation and wealth creation. Theuniversityresearchpolicyalsomakesreferencetothefactthatinthepast, research units have produced marketable products but that the commercialisation of these products has remained elusive (ibid.: 10). The policycallsforthedevelopmentofaclearstrategytolinkresearchactivityto commercialisation of products via, for example, theestablishment of Science andTechnologyParks(ibid.). TheuniversityhasalsoestablishedanIntellectualPropertyManagementOffice. Accordingtothewebsite,5theofficeisresponsibleforevaluating,protecting and commercialising University of Nairobi research through licensing to appropriate firms. It also provides advice to staff and students about opportunities for research funding and collaboration, and collaborates with other intellectual property organisations to identify other technologies for possibleexploitation. Researchfunding Accordingtorespondents,thegovernments contributiontoresearchfundsin theuniversityisnegligible.Asmentionedinsection2.3.3,theuniversityisable tofundsomeresearchactivitiesfromthefundsthataregeneratedthroughits Module II (private, feepaying) academic programmes. According to one
5
IntellectualPropertyManagementOfficewebsite:http://www5.uonbi.ac.ke/ip/?q=node/2.
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institutional leader, the university is currently investing between KES 500 and 700 million every year in research activities. However, another respondent explained that the research funds available through the university are also negligible,especiallyforseniorresearchers: The Deans Committee is the one that traditionally channels moneytoresearchers.However,theamountofmoneycoming through the Deans Committee is usually quite small, it would not interest a person like myself because we are talking of severalthousanddollarsforstudentstofinishtheirthesesorfor youngacademics,freshPhDswhodonthaveaname.Soitsfor junior people and typically the amount is very little; if you get USD5000youvedonewell.(Senioracademic) Accordingtoonerespondent,theprivatesectorandindustryprovideverylittle inthewayoffinancialsupportforresearchattheuniversity: [...]sometimesfromtheprivatesector,butitisvery,verylittle. Its not the kind of money that can mount a threeyear programme; its for small patchup exercises, oneoff kind of thing, but not to support a programme. If you want a big programme then you have to generate that funding yourself. Thatisthesituation.Industryhasyettoappreciatetheroleof researchinthiscountry.(Senioracademic) The universitys research policy makes reference to establishing a university research fund to financially support research on a competitive basis by the provision of short and long term fellowships and competitive grants for research (UoN 2008b: 7). A senior academic pointed to both the National Council for Science and Technology and the National Commission for Higher Education as having a role to play in raising funds for university research, but thatthisrolehasnotyetbeenrealisedowingtovariousproblems. By far the largest proportion of research funding to the university is from externaldonors. Researchthemes/focusareas The universitys research policy makes reference to conducting research in areas where new developments promise to offer and address the salient problems constraining development initiatives in Kenya and Africa and to major priority areas within the university research framework [and] global agenda (UoN 2008b: 5). This implies an institutional research agenda, or researchpriorityareas,butnowhereelseisthisreferredtomoreexplicitly.
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3.3.3 Initiativesaroundteachingandlearning
Institutionalpolicies,structuresandappointments There are no policies, structures or appointments that link teaching and learningactivitiestoeconomicdevelopmentspecifically. Linkageswiththelabourmarket Accordingtoaninstitutionalleader,someoftheadditionalfundsgeneratedby the Module II academic programmes are earmarked to fund programmes in priorityskillsidentifiedbytheuniversitycouncil(e.g.engineering). Departmentsandfacultiesarerequiredtoengageexternalstakeholdersintheir curriculum review and development. An institutional leader mentioned including stakeholders from industry, the private sector, professional bodies andthepublicsector.Thisorientationwasechoedbyotherrespondents.One institutional leader, for instance, said theres no point in training people without really checking what the industry wants and another said programmes are markettailored; we dont just shoot out there without interactionwiththerelevantstakeholders. An institutional leader made reference to a university policy that all faculties needtodevelopstudentattachment/internshipprogrammesintheircourses. At the time of the interviews, only some of the academic programmes had instituted attachment or internship programmes and, in many cases, these wereexperiencingsomeproblems.Forexample,onerespondentreportedthat feedback from an evaluation that was done suggested that the student attachment programmes of the university were not working optimally in particular, that there was not adequate supervision by the faculty (Institutional leader). Another said that the problem is that there is no curriculum attached, there is no mentoring, nor is there a proper evaluation mechanism.
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Part4
TheUniversityofNairobiacademiccore
ATAGLANCE
AprofileoftheUoNacademiccore: Enrolmentsinscience,engineeringandtechnology Postgraduateenrolmentsandgraduationrates Academicstafftostudentratio Academicstaffqualifications Researchfunding Researchoutput
4.1
Introduction
As outlined in the analytical framework (Section 1.1.3), the nature, size and continuity of the academic core is a key factor in the extent to which universitiescanmakeasignificantandsustainedcontributiontodevelopment. The academic core of universities refers to teaching via academic degree programmes and to research activities (often, but not exclusively of the basic type).Insocietieswherethereis astrongpactbetweenhighereducationand society,theuniversitieshavebeenable(andallowed)todevelopastrongcore ofacademicactivitiesthatformsthebasisforalltheiractivities.Thestrongerits academic core the easier it will be for a university to defend its institutional identityandintegrityagainstexternalorinternalthreats.Inaddition,astrong, institutionalisedacademiccorewillallowtheuniversitytoinvestalargepartof itsresourcesinthemaintenanceandfurtherstrengtheningofthecore,which canberegardedasthemainfoundationunderitsspecificinstitutionalidentity. According to Burton Clark (1998), when an enterprising university evolves a strongersteeringcore,anddevelopsanoutreachstructure,itsheartlandisstill inthetraditionalacademicdepartments,formedarounddisciplines,andsome interdisciplinaryfields.Theheartlandiswheretraditionalacademicvaluesand activities such as teaching, research and training of the next generation of academicsoccur. Forthepurposesofthisproject,wehaveusedthefollowingtooperationalise the concept of the academic core and to identify important preconditions for thedevelopmentofastrongacademiccoreinAfricanuniversities: Increasedenrolmentsinscience,engineeringandtechnology(SET):InAfrican governments and foreign development agencies alike, there is a strong emphasisonSETasimportantdriversofdevelopment(Juma2005).Includedin SETaretheagriculturalsciences,architectureandurbanandregionalplanning,
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computerandinformationscience,healthsciencesandveterinarysciences,life sciencesandphysicalsciences. Increasedpostgraduateenrolments:Theknowledgeeconomyanduniversities aredemandingincreasednumbersofpeoplewithpostgraduatequalifications. A favourable academicstaff to student ratio: The academic workload should allowforthepossibilityofresearchandPhDsupervision. A high proportion of academic staff with doctoral degrees: Research (CHET 2010) shows that there is high correlation between staff with doctorates, on the one hand, and research output and the training of PhD students, on the other. Adequateresearchfundingperacademic:Researchrequiresgovernmentand institutional funding and thirdstream funding from external sources such as industryandforeigndonors. High graduation rates in SET fields: Not only is it important to increase SET enrolments,itiscrucialthatuniversitiesachievehighsuccessratesinorderto respondtotheskillsshortagesintheAfricanlabourmarketinthesefields. Increasedknowledgeproductionintheformofdoctoralgraduates:Thereisa need for an increase in doctoral graduates for two reasons. Firstly, doctoral graduates form the backbone of academia and are therefore critical for the future reproduction of the academic core. Secondly, there is an increasing demandforpeoplewithdoctoraldegreesoutsideofacademia(e.g.inresearch organisationsandotherorganisationssuchasfinancialinstitutions). Knowledge production intheformofresearchpublicationsrecognisedinISI journals:Academicsneedtobeproducingpeerreviewedresearchpublications in order for the university to participate in the global knowledge community andtocontributetonewknowledgeandinnovation. The preconditions outlined above are translated into the following academic coreindicators: Indicator1: ProgrammesStrongSETenrolmentsandgraduations Indicator2: PostgraduatesIncreasedenrolmentsandgraduations Indicator3: TeachingloadsImprovingacademicstaff/studentratios Indicator4: QualifiedstaffHighpercentageacademicstaffwithPhDs Indicator5: FundingAvailabilityofresearchfunds Indicator6: ResearchoutputHighorimprovingoutput InordertodevelopabenchmarkagainstwhichtheUoNacademiccorecouldbe assessed, an analysis was undertaken of South Africas 22 contact universities andthesevenAfricanuniversitiesincludedinthecurrentstudy,basedonseven inputindicatorsandtwooutputindicators.(SeeAppendix2foradescriptionof theclusteranalysismethodology,thedetaileddatafortheinstitutionsincluded in the analysis, and a graph showing the results of the analysis.) A cluster analysisoftheresultsproducedthefollowingfourclustersofinstitutions: Cluster 1 consists of the five South African universities which have a strong focus on both undergraduate and postgraduate studies, which are well resourcedinteachingandinresearch,andwhichhavestrongresearchoutputs.
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Cluster2consistsoftwoSouthAfricanandfiveAfricanuniversitieswhichhave a primary focus on undergraduate studies, which have adequate undergraduate teaching resources, and which have good undergraduate but moderateresearchoutputrates. Cluster 3 consists of eight South African and two African universities which have high proportions of SET students, which have a main focus on undergraduate studies, but which do not have available the same levels of undergraduate teaching resources as Cluster 2. Their undergraduate output ratesaresatisfactory,buttheirresearchoutputratesfallbelowthetargetsset forSouthAfricanuniversities. Cluster 4 consists of eight South African universities which have low proportionsofpostgraduatestudents.Theirresourcelevelsarelowcompared to the other three clusters, their output rates at undergraduate level are unsatisfactory,andtheirresearchperformanceispoor. UoN appears in Cluster 3 together with Ghana, North West, KwaZuluNatal, Free State, Nelson Mandela, UWC, Venda, Zululand and Fort Hare. In the analyses which follow, UoN (which had an enrolment of 39 000 in 2007) is linked to (a) the other African university in Cluster 2 (Ghana which had an enrolment of 21 000 in 2007) and (b) KwaZuluNatal (UKZN) (which had an enrolmentof38000in2007). UoNisalsocomparedtotheCluster1universitywhichisclosesttoitintermsof enrolment size. This is the University of Pretoria which had an enrolment of 49000in2007.
4.2
SETenrolmentsandgraduations
Figure4.1showsthatUoN'senrolmentsincreasedby16700(or74%)in2007 compared to 2001. Enrolments in SET increased by 4700 (or 62%) in 2007 compared to 2001, business/management enrolments by 2900 (or 59%), and humanitiespluseducationby9100(or89%).Graph1showsthatproportionof SETmajorsfellslightlyfrom33%in2001to31%in2007.UoN'soverallshapeby fieldofstudiesremainedconstantoverthisperiod.
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Figure4.1:Nairobi:Enrolmentsbyfieldofstudy
46%
48%
50%
49%
21%
19%
21%
20%
33%
33%
29%
31%
2001
2003 Science & technology
2005 Business & management Humanities
2007
Table4.1:Nairobi:Totalenrolmentsbyfieldofstudy(thousands) Fieldofstudy 2001 2003 2005 2007 Average annual growthrate: 20002007 8.4% 8.1% 11.2% 9.6%
Scienceandtechnology Businessandmanagement Socialsciences,humanities andeducation Totals
7.6 4.9 10.3 22.8
7.9 4.7 11.5 24.1
9.4 6.9 16.1 32.4
12.3 7.8 19.3 39.4
UoN had, in 2001, a SET proportion which was comparable to those of UKZN and Pretoria (Figure 4.2). Compared to the other two, its share did, however, slipafter2005.
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Figure4.2:Comparisonofscienceandtechnologymajorsas%oftotalenrolment
45%
40%
38%
37%
37% Cluster1:
Pretoria UKZN
35%
34% 33%
33% 30% 31% 29%
35%
Nairobi
30%
31%
25% 22% 20% 18% 2001 Nairobi 2003 Ghana UKZN 2005 2007 Cluster 1: Pretoria 18% 17%
Ghana
15%
Table4.2:Comparisonoftotalscienceandtechnologyenrolments(thousands) Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster1:Pretoria 2001 7.6 3.2 11.5 13.8 2003 7.9 3.6 13.6 15.8 2005 9.4 4.7 12.3 17.4 2007 12.3 4.5 13.1 18.1
The data in Figures 4.3 and 4.4 measure output performance in terms of a universitysratiobetweengraduatesinanygivenyearandstudentenrolments inthatsameyear.Theseratiosserveasproxiesforcohortoutputrates,which indicatewhatproportionofanycohortenteringauniversitycanbeexpectedto eventually complete their degrees or diplomas. The benchmark of 25% is a proxy for a cohort success rate of 75% of entering students obtaining their degreesordiplomas. Figure 4.3 shows that UoN's average graduate rate for SET declined over this period2001to2005,butthenmovedupsharplyin2007.Theincreasein2007 was the result of an additional 2 000 students graduating in SET in 2007 comparedto2005.UoN'saveragegraduationrateforallprogrammeswas17% which is equivalent to a cohort success rate of 50%, which indicates that its historicalSETgraduateoutputratehasbeeninefficient.
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Figure4.3:Nairobi:Graduationratesbyfieldofstudy
26% 24% 22% 20% 18% 17% 16% 15% 14% 12% 10% 2001 2003 2005 2007 13% 17% 14% 19%
Averagefor allprogrammes
Target
23%
Science& Technology
18%
Science & technology
Average for all programmes
Table4.3:TotalSETgraduates Nairobi 2001 1314 2003 1383 2005 1239 2007 2804
Figure4.4showsthatUoN'sperformanceinproducingSETgraduateswasclose to that of the other two Cluster 2 universities. UoN's average graduation rate 17%forSETfortheperiod20012007isequivalenttoacohortsuccessrateof 53%, which is clearly not satisfactory. The average cohort success rates for 20012007forSET fortheotheruniversitieswere:GhanaandUKZN50%,and Pretoria60%.
Figure4.4:Comparisonofscienceandtechnologygraduationrates
24% 22% 20% 18% 17% 16% 16% 14% 12% 2001 Nairobi 2003 Ghana UKZN 2005 2007 Cluster 1: Pretoria 14% 15% 13% 13%
Ghana
23%
Nairobi
20% 19%
20%
20%
20%
Cluster1: Pretoria
17%
17%
17%
UKZN
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Table4.4:Comparisonoftotalscienceandtechnologygraduates Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster1:Pretoria 2001 1314 611 1657 2820 2003 1383 608 2011 3232 2005 1239 740 2078 3536 2007 2804 579 2184 3619
4.3
Postgraduateenrolmentsandgraduations
Figure 4.5 shows that the proportion of postgraduate students in UoN's total enrolment fell from 20% in 2001 to 16% in 2007. The reason was that UoN's postgraduate enrolments grew, between 2001 and 2007, at a lower average annual rate than undergraduates. These average annual increases were 6.1% for postgraduates and 10.3% for undergraduates. The graph also shows that UoN's2007proportionofpostgraduateswasabouthalfofthatoftheCluster1 university,Pretoria.
Figure4.5:Comparisonof%postgraduatesinenrolmenttotal
34% 31% 29% 29% 28% 24% 24% 20% 16% 16% 12% 9% 7% 5% 6%
Ghana Nairobi
30% 28% 28%
Cluster1: Pretoria
23%
UKZN
19%
18%
14%
4% 2001 Nairobi 2003 Ghana UKZN 2005 2007 Cluster 1: Pretoria
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Table4.5:Comparisonoftotalpostgraduateenrolmentsinallfieldsofstudy Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster1:Pretoria 2001 4455 1641 10478 9993 2003 3783 1395 12205 12306 2005 5845 1433 11397 12753 2007 6367 1682 8874 14566
Table 4.6 gives for UoN only, details of masters and doctoral enrolments and graduates over the period 2001 to 2007. The table shows that masters enrolments increased by 2 208 (or 64%) and masters graduates by 618 (or 167%)in2007comparedto2001.UoN'sgraduationrateformastersgraduates was,however,belowthetargetssetforSouthAfricanuniversities.Theaverage ratio of masters graduates to masters enrolments for the period was 15%, whichimpliesthatmastersstudentscouldbetakingsixyearstocompletetheir degrees. Doctoralenrolmentsdroppedfrom190in2001toonly62in2007.
Table4.6:Nairobi:Masteranddoctoralenrolmentsandgraduates 2001 2003 2005 2007 Average annual growth: 20002007 7.7% 17.8% 17.0% 3.5% 7.0% 17.1%
Masters Enrolments Graduates Doctoral Doctoralenrolments Doctoralgraduates Totalmasters+doctoral Enrolments Graduates
3937 370 190 26 4127 396
3376 694 81 32 3457 726
5332 576 170 7 5502 583
6145 988 62 32 6207 1020
Since doctoral students, especially in SET, are essential parts of research programmes, Figure 4.6 can be used as a first measure of a university's involvement in research. A university which has strong research programmes shouldhavereasonablyhighproportionsofdoctoralstudentsinitsgroupingof mastersplusdoctoralstudents. Thegraph shows that, for the period 20012007, UoN enrolled on average 32 masters students for each doctoral student enrolled, which is a high ratio, indicating that the flow of masters through to doctorates was low. The
50
comparableratiosfortheotheruniversitiesintheselectedgroupare:Ghana16 masters enrolments per doctoral enrolment, and UKZN and Pretoria both 4. These last two universities have well balanced masters to doctorate student ratios.
Figure4.6:Comparisonofdoctoralenrolmentsas%ofmastersanddoctoralenrolments
22% 22% 20% 17%
20%
21% 18%
21%
21%
Cluster1: Pretoria UKZN
15%
10% 6% 5% 5% 2% 0% 2001 Nairobi 2003 Ghana UKZN 2005 2007 Cluster 1: Pretoria 7% 6%
Ghana
3% 1%
Nairobi
Table4.7:Comparisonofmastersanddoctoralenrolments Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster1: Pretoria 2001

Masters Doctoral
2003
Masters Doctoral
2005
Masters Doctoral
2007
Masters Doctoral
3937 1344 3457 4858
190 69 773 1284
3376 1272 4535 5907
81 79 960 1529
5332 1337 4343 5714
170 94 1081 1546
6145 1580 3884 5399
62 102 1117 1495
Figure4.7comparesthetotalnumbersofdoctoralgraduatesproducedbyeach of the four universities between 2001 and 2007. UKZN produced 33%, and Pretoria53%,ofthetotaldoctoralgraduateoutputofthesefouruniversitiesin 2007.
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Figure4.7:Comparisonoftotaldoctoralgraduates
200 192 170 150 146 135 106
135
100
92
98
50 26 9 0 2001 Nairobi
32 14 7 12
32 11
2003 Ghana UKZN
2005 Cluster 1: Pretoria
2007
Table4.8:Comparisonofdoctoralgraduates Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster1:Pretoria 2001 26 9 92 135 2003 32 14 135 146 2005 7 12 98 192 2007 32 11 106 170
4.4
Studentstaffratios
Data on the formal teaching hours carried by academic staff at the four universities are not available. Use has therefore been made of proxies, which compare student to academic staff growth rates and ratios of fulltime equivalent(FTE)studentstoFTEacademicstaff. Table 4.9 shows how UoN's totals of FTE students and FTE academic staff changedoverthe period2001 to 2007.UoNwasnot abletomatchgrowthin FTE students and FTE academic staff in any of the broad fields of study. FTE student to FTE academic staff nevertheless remained favourable in all these fields, except business and management. The ratio for SET remained below 10:1, even though the average annual growth in FTE academic staff was less than1%comparedtothenearly8%growthrateinFTEstudentsinSET.
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Table4.9:Nairobi:FTEstudentsandacademicstaff 2001 Scienceandtechnology FTEstudents FTEacademicstaff FTEstudenttoFTEacademicratio Business&management FTEstudents FTEacademicstaff FTEstudenttoFTEacademicratio Humanitiespluseducation FTEstudents FTEacademicstaff FTEstudenttoFTEacademicratio TOTALS FTEstudents FTEacademicstaff FTEstudenttoFTEacademicratio 5259 843 6.2 2903 103 28.2 7248 358 20.2 15410 1304 11.8 2003 5496 843 6.5 2355 97 24.3 7422 328 22.6 15273 1268 12.0 2005 6172 881 7.0 3549 99 35.8 9897 359 27.6 19618 1339 14.7 2007 8165 888 9.2 4192 99 42.3 11758 376 31.3 24115 1363 17.7 Average annual growth: 20002007 7.6% 0.9% 6.3% 0.7% 8.4% 0.8% 7.7% 0.7%
Figure 4.8 compares FTE student to FTE academic staff ratios for 2007. The average ratio for all four universities was 21 or less, which is regarded as satisfactory in terms of South African norms. It is worth noting that while the SET ratios of all four are satisfactory, the Cluster 1 university had the highest ratio of SET FTE students to FTE academic staff. In all four the ratio for business/managementwashigh,andinUoNandPretoriathehumanities plus educationratiowasover30:1.
53
Figure4.8:Comparisonsof2007FTEstudentstaffratios
50 42 40 29 31 32
47 42 42
30
20 12 13 10 9 9
19
21 18 17 17
0 SET Nairobi Bus Ghana UKZN All Hum Cluster 1: Pretoria Average
Figure 4.9 compares the four universities' 2007 totals of permanent academic staff and FTE academic staff. Figure 4.10 can function as a proxy of the load carried by permanent academic staff members, who are expected to be the mainsupervisorsofresearchstudentsandproducersofresearchpublications. Figures4.9and4.10showthatthepermanentacademicstaffatPretoriahave the highest level of support from temporary and parttime academic staff. Pretoria had, in 2007, 1 619 permanent academics and the equivalent of a further199parttimeandtemporaryacademicstaff.UoNhad1292permanent academics and the equivalent of a further 71 temporary and parttime academicstaffmembers.
Figure4.9:ComparisonoftotalsofpermanentandFTEacademicstaff(2007)
2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 Nairobi Ghana Permanent academics UKZN FTE academics Cluster 1: Pretoria 792 838 1363 1292 1646 1531 1818 1619
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Figure4.10:ComparisonofratiosofFTEtopermanentacademicstaff(2007)
1.14 Target ratio 1.12
1.12
1.10
1.08 1.06
1.08
1.06
1.05
1.04
1.02 Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster 1: Pretoria
FTE to permanent academic staff
4.5
Academicstaffqualifications
Figure 4.11 compares the 2007 proportions for the cluster of the permanent academicstaffwhohaveeitheramastersoradoctorateastheirhighestformal qualification. UoN's ratio of 71% of permanent academics with doctorates wouldberegardedasexceptionallyhighintheSouthAfricanuniversitysystem.
Figure4.11:Comparisonofhighestformalqualificationsofpermanentacademics(2007)
80% 71% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Nairobi Ghana Doctorate highest UKZN Masters highest Cluster 1: Pretoria 28% 30% 27% 47% 42% 38% 35%
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Table4.10:Comparisonofpermanentacademicswithmastersanddoctoraldegrees(2007) Doctoratehighest Mastershighest Lowerthanmasters Nairobi 915 363 14 Ghana 405 364 96 UKZN 466 407 658 Cluster1:Pretoria 621 565 433
4.6
Researchfunding6
The information in Figures 4.12 and 4.13 attempts toset out the totals which each university had available for research in 2007. It should therefore reflect researchincomeratherthanexpenditureonresearch. In their annual income statements, South African universities report on their researchfundingintermsofrecurrentresearchincomeandresearchcontracts fordesignatedpurposes.Pretoria's2007incomestatementsgaveitsrecurrent research income as R 0 and its designated research contract income as R 116 million. UoN,GhanaandUKZNdidnotprovidespecificinformationonresearchfunding. Intheanalyseswhichfollow,assumptionsaremadethattheirresearchincome =3%oftheirtotalincome. The calculations of market rate dollars are based on average exchange rates quotedbythecentralbankingauthoritiesofeachcountry. ThecalculationofPurchasingPowerParitydollars(PPP$)isbasedonestimates contained in the 2008 publication on World Development Indicators (World Bank 2008). Because these estimates are based on 2005 exchange rates, the followingmethodwasusedforthe2007calculations: The indicator set gives for each country a ratio between the PPP conversion factor and the market exchange rate. For example, the South African ratio is givenas0.61,basedonamarketexchangerateofR6.4perUSDin2005. The2007calculationsassumethatthe2005ratiowillapplyagain.Sothe2007 PPP conversion factor is taken to be 2005 ratio times 2007 market exchange rate.Forexample,theconversionfactorforSouthAfricaiscalculatedas2005 ratiotimes2007exchangerate=0.61X7.0=4.27. Thesecalculationsarebasedtheresearchincometotalsreferredtoabove.The amountsinlocalcurrencywereconvertedtomarketrateUSDandPPP$dollars usingthemethodologyreferredtoatthebeginningofthissection.
Itmustbenotedthatalluniversitiesinthesampleappeartousedifferentmeanstoestimate theirresearchincome.Forthepurposesofcomparisonwherenofigureshavebeensupplieda percentage of university income has been used. These figures however are not reliable and moreworkneedstobedoneinfurtherstudiestoaccuratelytrackuniversityresearchincome.
6
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Figure4.12:ComparisonofresearchincomeinmarketrateUSDandPPP$(millions)
35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0 16.6 15.0 10.0 5.0 0.0 Nairobi Ghana Market rate $ PPP $ UKZN Cluster 1: Pretoria 14.1 23.2
27.2
6.9 2.7 2.7
1.1
Figure4.13isbasedontheactualandassumedresearchincometotalsinFigure 4.12andthepermanentacademicstafftotalsinFigure4.9.
Figure4.13:ComparisonoftotalresearchincomeperpermanentacademicinmarketrateUSDand PPP$(thousands)
18.0 16.0 14.0 12.0 10.3 10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.1 2.0 0.0 Nairobi Ghana Market rate $ PPP $ UKZN Cluster 1: Pretoria 1.4 5.3 3.4 9.2 15.2 16.8
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4.7
Researchoutputs
For the purposes of this study, research outputs are measured in terms of researchpublications7,anddoctoralgraduates.Table4.11listsUoNstotalsof researchpublicationsanddoctoralgraduatesfortheperiod20012007.
Table4.11:Nairobi:Researchoutputs 2001 2003 2005 2007 Researchpublications 115 100 93 136 Doctoralgraduates 26 32 7 32
Figure 4.14 deals only with research publication units. The target is based on theassumptionthatapermanentacademicshouldpublishatleastoneresearch articleeverytwoyears.ThedatainthegraphshowthatUKZNandPretoriamet this target. The ratios of UoN and Ghana suggest that each permanent academicwillpublishoneresearcharticleevery8to10years.
Figure4.14:Comparisonofresearchpublicationunitsperpermanentacademic
1.00 0.90 0.80 0.70 0.60 0.50 0.40 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.00 Nairobi Ghana 2001 2007 UKZN Cluster 1: Pretoria 0.09 0.11 0.10 0.13 0.57 Target 0.51 0.61 0.73

The research publication data presented here are based on the peer reviewed research publications data in the Web of Science citation database within the ISI Web of Knowledge, produced by Thomson Reuters. The database captures papers from all countries that are publishedinjournalsthatmeetcertaincriteriaofqualityasdeterminedbyThomsonReuters.
7
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Figure 4.15 sets out ratios between doctoral graduates and permanent academic staff, with the target again being derived from the research output targets used in the South African higher education system. In this case, the targettakesaccountoftheproductivityofacademicstaffintermsofthetotal of doctoral graduates produced in a given year divided by the total of permanent academic staff employed in that year. The target ratio of 10% is basedonthesecalculations: At least 50% of the permanent staff of a university should be supervising at least one doctoral student, and these students should take on average five years to complete their degrees. So a university with (say) 100 permanent academicsshouldenrolatleast50doctoralstudents,and20%oftheseshould graduateeachyear.Theratiobetweenpermanentstaffanddoctoralgraduates shouldthereforebeatleast10/100=10%. ThedatainthegraphshowthatPretoriaexceededthistargetin2007andcame close to it 2001. KwaZuluNatals ratio was below the ratio in both years. The othertwouniversitiesinthegroupfellwellshortofthetargetof10%.
Figure4.15:Comparisonofdoctoralgraduatesingivenyearas%ofpermanentacademicsemployed
12.0% Target ratio 10.5% 9.3%
10.0%
8.0%
7.1%6.9%
6.0%
4.0% 2.5% 2.1% 2.0% 1.4%1.4%
0.0% Nairobi Ghana 2001 2007 KwaZulu-Natal Cluster 1: Pretoria
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Part5
Theengagementanddevelopment relatedactivitiesoftheUniversityof Nairobi

ATAGLANCE
Universityengagementandlinkageswithgovernmentandindustry Incentivesforacademicstoengageindevelopmentrelatedactivities Coordinationofdevelopmentactivities Connectednessofeconomicdevelopmentrelatedprojectsandcentrestothe academiccore
5.1
Introduction
Inordertoensurethatthecoreactivitiesofteachingandresearcharetosome extentalignedwithnationaldevelopmentprioritiesandcantherebycontribute to development in society, universities increasingly emphasise the need to engagewithrelevantexternalstakeholders.Furthermore,muchofwhatmight be termed the developmentrelated activities of the university usually fall within the socalled third mission, which is variously referred to as engagement,serviceorcommunityoutreach.Thiscouldincludeacademics serving on committees in the public or private sector, providing support to small businesses, responding to requests for short courses, or undertaking contract research for outside clients. More often than not, the economic developmentrelated projects and activities of the institution fall under its engagementfunction. Inthefirstpartofthissection,weexploretheUoNsengagementwithitskey externalstakeholders,namelygovernment,industryandforeigndonors.Inthe secondpartofthesection,weturnourattentiontoananalysisoftheextentof theconnectednessoftheeconomicdevelopmentrelatedcentresandprojects includedinthisstudy.
5.2
Engagementandlinkageswithexternalstakeholders
In the previous university strategic plan (20052010), one of the strategic objectiveswasTomainstreamconsultancyasacorefunctionoftheUniversity (UoN2005:10).Therationaleforthismoveisexplainedasfollows(ibid.:33):
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Theuniversityinanysocietyexhibitsthegreatestconcentration of people with expertise and knowledge that can be gainfully utilised in solving societal problems through consultancies and innovations.Giventheinterdisciplinarynatureofouracademic and research activities, the University of Nairobi should mainstream consultancies and community service as part and parcel of its core business. The desired position is to have the University as a major provider of consultancy services in the region.Inthisregard,theUniversityintendstofosterstrategic alliances and partnerships with other local and international institutions. As was mentioned in section 3.3.1, consultancy is seen as the primary set of activitiesthroughwhichtoaddressnationaldevelopmentneeds.
5.2.1 Universitygovernmentindustrylinkages
Historically speaking, a couple of respondents pointed to the different relationship that the university had with different government regimes. They both noted that at a certain point, there was a bad relationship between the university and the government which resulted in a lack of funding from the government: I think for the immediate postindependence the universities were completely funded by government. Then two things happened one, it was more general, and that is that there were things like structural adjustment programmes and that governments were discouraged from providing full support for anything. Also in the 1980s the relationship between universitiesandtheMoigovernmentherewasnotgood;there was a lot of antiintellectualism, a lot of fear that everybody, every university lecturer was a potential communist spy, etcetera, etcetera. So I think that was another and a lot of qualified people left the university at that time. (Senior academic) When the university started drifting from its developmental mandate[postindependence]andstartedassumingadifferent kindofaroleasconscienceofsociety,ifyouwanttocallitthat, and became more and more alienated from the state that hurt because there was very little funding coming from the government.Infact,duringtheMoiregimeitstruetosaythat research was regarded as a subversive activity as with all dictatorial regimes, so it was to their interest not to fund the university.(Senioracademic)
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Regarding the universitys relationship with government today, there were somemixedviews.Ontheonehand,accordingtooneinstitutionalleader,the universityisusuallythefirstchoiceforgovernmentwhenassistanceisneeded withpolicydevelopment:TheUniversityofNairobitendstobetheuniversity ofchoiceintermsoflinkingupwithmostofthegovernmentpolicyworkand research and things like that. Other respondents reported that many UoN academicshadbeeninvolvedinthedevelopmentofKenyaVision2030from economics,sociology,politicalscienceandadministration,amongstothers. Ontheotherhand,however,somerespondentswerequitescepticalabouthow theuniversityisperceivedbythegovernment: Infact,wethinkthattheuniversityhasalottoofferintermsof thingsthatwecandothatwillinformpolicies,butmanytimes youllfindtheChiefofEngineersinthecivilservicesaying:oh, youattheuniversity,youaretootheoretical,tooscientificwe wantpracticalthings.(Institutionalleader) Although Kenya has opened dramatically in terms of political spaceinthelastseven,eightyears,Istillsensethatthereisstill whatIllcallresiduemistrustbetweenthestateandthehigher education institutions. Its not discussed openly but I get the impressionthatwearestillnotfullytrusted.Afewofusgetco optedfromtimetotime,aprofessorappointedhereandthere. But that residue of mistrust is still there; in other words, the knowledge industry is not going to be allowed to drive the developmentprocessinthiscountry.(Senioracademic) Interestingly, the previous strategic plan (20052010) makes reference to the institutions desire to seek greater autonomy from the state. For instance, it saysthefollowing(UoN2005:35): University of Nairobi operates under an Act of Parliament, the University of Nairobi Act (1985). Being a public institution, the University is also subject to the State Corporations Act, which tendstobemorerestrictivethanfacilitative.Thecontemporary environment requires a prudent and more businesslike approachinthemanagementoftheUniversityinordertoseize the emerging opportunities. It is expected, therefore, that the Universitywillnegotiateforgreaterautonomyandfreedomof operationinordertoachievethedesiredgoals. This is later articulatedas astrategy (Seek greater autonomy and strengthen the Universitys ability to determine its own direction and operations) under theobjectiveofachievingamoreenablinglegislativeandregulatoryframework (ibid.:44).
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Despite these kinds of concerns, numerous examples were highlighted during the interviews of linkages with government agencies at the level of individual unitsandprojects.Thefollowingisjustonesuchexampleofthewaysinwhich theacademicsinonedepartmentlinkwithgovernment: We have been using several methods. One of them is through thepapersthegovernmentadvertisestheywantconsultants or they want researchers or experts in a certain area and we make a deliberate effort to form a team and then apply accordingly; if its an expression of interest or a request for proposal,fillintherequiredforms.Sothathasbeenoneofthe methods, because the government is encouraging the competitive aspect, especially in our area, of sourcing experts. We have had cases whereby the government has gotten in touchwithusdirectly,writtenaletteraskingforanomination by the department of an expert ina certain area. [...] In some other casesthegovernmenthasappointedsomeofusdirectly to perform certain functions. For example, I am sitting in an interministerialcommitteethatistransformingthefunctionsof the National Meteorological Service to become a semi autonomous government agency. So the committee asks variousministries,MinistryofFinance,MinistryofEnvironment, Transport,theStateLawOfficeandothers,andwearebasically discussingpolicyissuesrelatedtohowthisshouldhappen.That wasadirectappointmentinthesensethatIwasrequestedifI cantakeitup.Wehavecolleagueswhohavebeenappointedto leadregionalinstitutions,likewehaveoneoftheinstitutionsin our area, its called IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre where the head of the institution is from the Department. They are involved in policy development, policy analysis, and in that sense is making a contribution in that sense.(Senioracademic) Therewerehardlyanyexamplesoflinkageswiththeprivatesectororindustry. The previous strategic plan (UoN 2005: 32) makes reference to a study undertaken for the Commission for Higher Education which confirmed that relativelylowcollaborationexistsbetweenuniversitiesandindustriesinKenya inrelationtoteachingandlearning,aswellasR&Dinitiatives. One of the strategic areas in the current institutional strategic plan is that of strengthening and extending partnerships and linkages with external stakeholders(UoN2008a:5).OneofthestrategiesinthisregardistoEstablish viable University industry linkages in areas of research, development and academicchairs(ibid.).Thisisfurtheremphasisedintheuniversitysresearch policy which encourages partnerships between research units and the private sector / industry through joint research ventures and contract research (UoN 2008b:8).
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5.2.2 Foreigndonors
Accordingtoonesenioracademic,ingeneraltheydonotexperienceconflictsof interestwithexternaldonors,andthatthesearemanagedfromtheoutset: We would see it as natural and understandable in the sense that a donor would, they have their expectations and their expectations must be met. What we normally do, we start by havingamemorandumofagreement.Ifitsalongtermproject, like this one now we are going to finish with the University of WalesinCardiffsothatweagreeattheverybeginning,they say: these are our expectations, we also say: this is what we expectandthisinlinewithourvision,mission,andsoon.Sowe strikeabalanceatthebeginning.Thisiswhatwehavefoundas probablyfornowthesuitablemethodtomoveforward.Inthe past we would start a process and then in the middle the interests, as you put it, brings that tension. I want to move in this direction but the donor is saying: no, no, no, you cannot move in that direction so we try to do this at the very beginning through the memorandum of understanding. [...] Sometimesweareforcedtojustgobythedonor,especiallyfor the consultancies for obvious reasons, because somebody will want some work done in a certain specific way. If it doesnt interferewithourvisionandmissionthenwejustgoahead.SoI wouldntsaytheresaconflict.(Senioracademic) Anotherrespondentpointedtosomerecentchangesespeciallyamongstthe American donor agencies like USAID and Rockefeller, which are no longer funding research in the universities directly, but rather through civil society organisations. According to this respondent, this is leading to fragmentation andprojectisation: The problem with funding through civil society is that funding getsfragmented.Youfundamillionandonelittleactivitiesand somebodylikeme,whohasgonethroughthatphase,andnow wewantaprogrammeoffive,sixyearsbecausewearetiredof runningtothefieldeverythreeweekswithminorlittleprojects, whichisanaturaloutcomeofmaturingandaging,soyoudont want to be running you want to sink your teeth into a five year programme. Its very difficult to get that kind of a thing fromaUSfoundation.(Senioracademic)
5.2.3 Incentives,rewardsandcoordination
According to an institutional leader, until recently, research activities in the university have gone largely uncoordinated. In particular, there was no
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institutionlevelunitresponsibleforcoordinatingresearchandthatmuchofthe research that was done for outside organisations (e.g.government or donors) wasnegotiatedbyindividualswithinacademicunits.Morerecently,theDeans Committee essentially the universitys research committee established two researchunits(forthesciencesandsocialsciences)whicharenowresponsible forcoordinatingresearchactivitiesintheirrespectivedisciplinaryareas.There are now also plans to establish an office for a deputy vicechancellor for researchanddevelopment. TheUniversityofNairobiEnterprisesandServices(UNES)Ltdwasestablishedin 1996 with the aim of promoting and coordinating the various income generating activities of the university, including teaching, research and consultancy activities. UNES is registered as a private company, limited by shares,andoperatesasaseparatelegalentity,independentoftheuniversity. According to the web site8, UNES was established to undertake the following activities: Harness the resources of the university with a view to enhancing the universitysteachingandresearchcapabilities; Promote, coordinate and provide managerial services for incomegenerating activitieswithintheuniversity; Undertake consultancy, research, production and other incomegenerating activitiesandpromoteandfacilitatesuchactivitiesundertakenbydepartments andotherunitsoftheuniversity; Provide managerial services for consultancy, research, production and other incomegenerating activities to the departments, faculties and other units of theuniversity;and Registerpatentsofany inventions andinnovations inwhichthecompany will havemadeacontribution. UNEStendstofocusonworkingwiththoseconsultanciesthatrequireagroup orconsortium,asopposedtoindividualconsultancies.Intermsoffacilitation,it keeps an eye out for calls for proposals and then approaches individuals or groupswhomitthinksmightbeinterested(fromalistofacademicswhohave registered themselves with UNES). UNES then works on the business side of the proposal (including the budget) while the academic team works on the technicalaspects. There was no evidence that there are specific incentives or rewards to encourage developmentrelated activities in particular. However, the previous strategic plan (20052010) makes reference to the intention to establish rewards (criteria for promotion) for consultancy activities, although it is not clearwhetherthesehavebeenrealised(UoN2005:4243): The consultancy that normally comes to the University is privately sourced by individual staff members or small teams, with minimal reference to the University. Consultancy has not
8
UNESwebsite:http://www.uneskenya.com.
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beenfully integratedintotherewardsystemoftheUniversity. To this end the University shall put in place attractive policies and regulations, which elevate consultancy to the level of integral and mainstream activity of members of staff at all levels.
5.2.4 Summary
Whilethereappeartobesomesignificantlinkageswithgovernmentagenciesat the level of individual units and projects, the relationship between the university and government at the broader level seems to have gone through some difficult times. There is considerably less interaction between the universityandindustry. UNES is the main institutional level unit which plays a role in coordinating internal and external interests, although this is also done at the lower levels. And,whileconsultancyhasbeenmainstreamed,theredonotappeartobeany concrete mechanisms in place for incentivising or rewarding development relatedactivities.
5.3
Theconnectednessofdevelopmentactivitiestotheacademiccore
A key issue for the relationship between higher education and economic developmentistoestablisha productiverelationshipbetweenknowledgeand connectedness. On the one hand, if there is an overemphasis on the basic knowledge activities of teaching and research in other words, an excessive inward orientation towards strengthening the academic core this results in theuniversity becominganivorytower.Or,if theacademiccoreisweak,an overemphasisonknowledgeresultsintheancillaryroleoftheuniversity(i.e. nodirectroleindevelopment).Ontheotherhand,ifthereisanoveremphasis intheuniversityonconnectingtodevelopmentactivities,thenitweakensthe academiccoreandtheuniversityhaslittleneworrelevantknowledgetooffer intheexchangerelationship. The challenge for universities, then, is to deal with this inherent tension between buffering (protecting) the core technologies of the institution, and bridging (linking) those with external actors (Scott 2001: 199211). In reality, theboundariesbetweeninternalandexternalarenotthatclearcut.Anumber of theorists, such as Gibbons et al. (1994) and Scott (2001), have argued that during globalisation and its associated new forms of knowledge production, theboundariesarebecomingincreasinglyblurredandpermeable. The highereducation studies literature describes this problem in terms of the conceptualnotionofcoupling(Scott2001;Weick1976);thatis,theextentto whichthecoreandtheexternal(orperiphery)arelinkedwith,orconnected to,oneanother.Intightcoupling,theboundaryisweakandtheuniversityisin adirect,instrumentalrelationshipwithexternalactorssuchasgovernmentor
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industry.Inloosecoupling,theboundaryisstronger,suchasinthetraditional notion of the university as a selfgoverning institution, which assumes an indirect contribution to development. The more complex relationship is with the engine of development notion where there are multiple, simultaneous formsofknowledgeproductionandexchange. Forthepurposesofthisstudy,weareusingthetermconnectednesstorefer to the relationship (and tension) between the inward focus on strengthening and maintaining the academic core, and the outward focus on linking with external stakeholders and development. We operationalised connectedness alongtwodimensions.Thefirstdimensionisarticulationwhichhasanumber of aspects. Firstly, it refers to the extent to which the aims and activities of developmentrelated activities articulate with national development priorities andtheuniversitysstrategicobjectives.Secondly,itreferstothelinkagesthe project has with two of the groups of stakeholders in the triangle the government(usuallythroughspecificgovernmentdepartments/agencies)and external stakeholders (e.g. industry, small businesses, NGOs or community groupssuchasfishersorsmallscalefarmers).Inparticular,ourfocusisonthe extent to which there are linkages with an implementation agency, (i.e. an externalbodywhichtakesuptheknowledgeand/oritsproductsgeneratedor applied through research or training). Thirdly, articulation takes into account linkages generated through sources of funding in two respects: whether the project/centre obtains funding from one or more of the three stakeholder groups(government,anexternalfunderortheuniversityitself);and,theextent towhichtheproject/centredevelopsarelationshipwithitsfundersovertime. This latter aspect is determined through the nature of the financial sustainabilityoftheproject. The second dimension focuses on the extent to which development activities serve to strengthen the academic core of the university. This was operationalised in terms of the extent to which the work undertaken in projects/centresfeedsintoteachingorcurriculumdevelopment;islinkedtothe formal training of students; enables academics to publish in academic publications(journals,booksetc);islinkedtointernationalacademicnetworks; and,generatesnewknowledge(versusapplyingexistingknowledge). These various aspects relating to articulation and strengthening the academic corewereconvertedintoindicatorswhichcouldthenbeappliedtoananalysis ofthedevelopmentrelatedprojectsandcentresincludedinthestudy.Onthe basis of the indicator ratings, the projects/centres were plotted on a graph depictingtheintersectionbetweenarticulationandstrengtheningtheacademic core. In this section, we present the analysis of the connectedness of selected developmentrelatedactivitiesatUoN.Theseprojects,whichhaveaneconomic development or poverty reduction focus, were identified by the institutional leadershipforinclusioninthestudy. Itshouldbenotedthatthismethodofanalysisisaworkinprogressandinthe contextofthisstudyhastwopossiblelimitations.Thefirstisthatthemethodof
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analysis has been developed since completion of the data collection which meansthattherearesomeareasoftheprojectdatawhichwerenotexploredin great detail during the interviews. We have, as far as possible, attempted to obtainthisadditionaldatafromprojectleadersinthedraftingofthisreport.A secondlimitationisthattheanalysiswhichfollowsisbasedonasmallnumber ofprojectsratherthanalargerepresentativesample.Inaddition,theprojects selected have an inbuilt bias since they were selected by institutional leadership on the basis of their economic development or poverty reduction focus. Despite these limitations, however, we believe that the analysis that followsisanilluminatingfirststeptowardsthedevelopmentofatoolwhichcan enable institutions and donors to think critically and strategically about the implications of different models of funding and engagement or development relatedactivities.
5.3.1 Abriefoverviewoftheprojects

AfricanCollaborativeCentreforEarthSystemScience(ACCESS) DepartmentofGeology,CollegeofBiologicalandPhysicalSciences, Location ChiromoCampus Prof.EricOdada(RegionalDirector) Projectleader 1989;ongoing Timeframe Longtermresearchandcapacitybuildingprogramme Type http://access.uonbi.ac.ke Website
Thisprogrammestartedabout30yearsagofollowinganinternationalmeeting of the World Meteorological Organisation during which issues relating to the eroding of the ozone layer were discussed. As a geologist, Prof. Odada was alreadyworkinginafieldrelatedtochangestotheearthsystemovertime.A group of scientists under the International Council for Science (ICSU) got together to plan an International GeosphereBiosphere Programme which wouldstudythechangestakingplaceontheplanetandthelikelyeffectsonthe biological community. At that time, Prof. Odada was the only scientist from Africaintheorganisation.Hedrewattentiontothelinkbetweenissuesaround climate change and other issues in the developing world such as land transformation (deforestation, erosion etc), the water cycle, biodiversity, health, food security and poverty, and highlighted the need to look at these issues in an integrated manner. This broad scientific agenda was accepted by the international community and then further expanded to include issues relating to atmospheric science and hydrological aspects, all of which became theagendaoftheWorldClimateResearchProgramme.Prof.Odadacontributed furthertothisagendabyarguingthatAfricashouldbeacentralcomponentof scientificinvestigationintotheglobalissueofclimatechangegiventhepivotal roleoftheheatingofthetropicsindrivingclimatechangesinotherpartsofthe world. As a result, Africa became a central part of the development of the Global and Environmental Change Science Agenda. The final aspect of this global programme to be motivated by Prof. Odada was the introduction of a capacitybuildingcomponentforAfricanscientists.
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Thebroadaimoftheprogrammeistofosterglobalchangeresearchonclimate change to impact on water resources, food security, health and ecosystems. ThisresearchprogrammeisintimatelylinkedintoglobalandAfricannetworks oforganisationsandprogrammesrelatingtothemultidisciplinaryareaofglobal environmental change research and capacitybuilding. Over the years, Prof. Odada and colleagues have undertaken a number of research projects under thebroadumbrellaofglobalenvironmentalchange.Tworecentresearchtopics include: the contribution of biomass burning and atmospheric fallout on the waters in equatorial Africa; and adapting capacity to support climate change adaptation in Africa. Although based in the Department of Geology in the university, Prof. Odada frequently works in multidisciplinary teams including naturalscientists,socialscientistsandeconomists. Theprogrammeemphasisestheimportanceoflinkingwithtargetcommunities (intendedbeneficiaries)whenundertakingresearchortechnologydevelopment that is intended for these communities. They also pilot new technologies or techniquesonasmallscaleinthecommunities. With regard to the capacity building focus of the programme, the focus is on addressing issues such as: How do educational institutions work to address issues of development and science in their own environments? How do we utilise available capacity? With regard to the latter, Prof. Odada noted that therearemanyunemployedPhDsorPhDswhoarenotworkingintheirspecific areas of training. In addition, there is a need to define the capacity needs of institutionslikeuniversitiesandgovernments.Thereisalsotheneedtolookat thesciencepolicyinterface:ontheonehand,thecapacityofscientiststotalkin alanguagethatisunderstandabletopolicymakersandruralcommunities;on the other hand, the capacity of policymakers to assimilate research findings intodecisionmaking. Regional cooperation in Africa around global environmental change research was taken to a new level at a workshop held in Nairobi in September 2005 which focused on moving towards the establishment of an African Global Environmental Change Research Network. Participants included global change scientists, the ICSU family, international organisations, development aid agencies,researchcouncilsandfoundations,regionalnetworkingorganisations, science academies and governmental and nongovernmental agencies. The workshopidentifiedscientificprioritiesforanewstructuretakingintoaccount the need to improve and expand scientific understanding of earth system processes of special importance in and to the region, especially those related directlyto:theneedsofthecountriesoftheregion,thevarioussubregions,the scientificprioritiesofexistingregionalbodiesandtotheglobalprioritiesofthe relevant international global change research programmes. The key research themes suggested by the workshop, which are driven by multidisciplinary researchquestions,includedwaterandclimatemodelling,desertification,land degradation, biodiversity and food security, health and pollution, and aquatic ecosystems. Fundingfortheprogrammefromgovernmentcomesviaresearchgrantsfrom theNationalCouncilonScienceandTechnologyandviasmallgrantsfromthe
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Deans Committee in the university (which is governmentfunded). Other funders include the African Development Bank, World Bank, DFID, IDRC, and theArabFund(throughtheUnitedNationsDepartmentofEconomicandSocial Affairs).
ChronicPovertyResearchCentreinKenya(CPRCK) Location InstituteforDevelopmentStudies Unithead Prof.NjugunaNgethe Timeframe 2003;ongoing Type Longtermresearchprogramme Website
TheChronicPovertyResearchCentreinKenya(CPRCK)isaresearchnetworkof academic and policy analysis institutions and NGOs led by the Institute for Development Studies at UoN. CPRCK is a subcentre of the Chronic Poverty Research Centre based at the Institute for Development Policy and ManagementattheUniversityofManchester.TheUKcentreisapartnershipof northern and southern research institutes and advocacy organisations that seek to provide analysis and policy guidance that will stimulate national and internationaldebateandactionaboutachievinggreaterinclusionofthechronic poorintheformulationof,andbenefitsderivingfrom,developmentpolicy. TheCPRCKwasestablishedattheInstituteforDevelopmentStudiesoutofthe questtounderstandtherelationshipbetweengovernmentpolicyandlevelsof poverty, on the one hand, and the dynamics of poverty in general, and of chronicpovertyinparticular,ontheotherhand.Theactivitiesofthecentreare determinedfirstandforemostbyacademicdiscourseandinstitutionalresearch interests (e.g. the debates about poverty); then by national development concerns, especially with regard to research priorities; and, lastly, by donor interests. Theobjectivesofthecentreincludethefollowing: To carry out research on chronic poverty in Kenya using both qualitative and quantitativemethods; To strengthen the capacity of government and research organisations to undertakefurtherresearchonchronicpoverty; To develop and propose workable strategies to support the reduction of chronicpovertyinKenya; To disseminate research findings and other information related to chronic poverty to policymakers, civil society, development practitioners, the private sector,donors,andthegeneralpublic;and Tofosterpolicydialoguearoundtheproblemsassociatedwithchronicpoverty andthewaysinwhichthesemightbereduced. CPRCK is a fiveyear programme with three distinct but complementary activities: research, capacity building, and dissemination and communication. The goal is to provide information that can clearly aid in the development of interventions that benefit the chronically poor by seeking answers to the
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following questions: what pushes individuals and households into chronic poverty (drivers), what traps them there (maintainers) and what may enable them to leave (interrupters)? A number of research projects have been undertaken under this programme including, for example, an overview of the povertysituationinKenya,andspecificpovertyrelatedissuesinKenya. Another element of the programme is fellowships and scholarships. Three to four fellowships are awarded each year, which enable those who want to do theirresearchintheareaofchronicpovertytoundertaketheirfieldwork.Two scholarshipsaregrantedeachyearviatheBoardofPostgraduateStudies.These studentsareregisteredintheInstituteforDevelopmentStudies. TheCentreisfundedbyDFIDandTrcaire(Ireland).
AfricanClothingandFootwearResearchNetwork(ACFRN) InstituteforDevelopmentStudies,CollegeofHumanitiesandSocial Location Sciences Projectleader Prof.DorothyMcCormick(InternationalCoordinator) Timeframe 2001;ongoing Type Longtermresearchprogramme Website http://acfrn.org/home.php
TheideafortheNetworkwastheoutcomeofaworkshopin1999intheUnited Kingdom. The UoN Institute for Development Studies invited academics from Tanzania, Ethiopia and South Africa to form a network. The network was launched in Nairobi in September 2001 with initial support from the governmentoftheNetherlands.MadagascarandMauritiuswereincludedata laterdate.TheNetworkisgovernedbyasecretariatbasedattheInstitutefor Development Studies, by country coordinators, a steering committee and resourcepersons. TheoverallpurposeoftheNetworkistogenerateanddisseminateinformation about the clothing and footwear industries in Africa that will be useful for industry,policyandacademicpurposes. The activities of the network unfolded in two phases (linked to funding). The first phase involved undertaking a review of what research had already been done on the clothing and footwear industry in the initial four countries and beyond, which would form the basis of future research. In addition, team membersmadecontactwiththerelevantministriesineachcountry(suchasa ministryofindustry)tofindoutwhatpolicieswerealreadyinplaceandwhich werestillneeded,andtosetupanetwork oflinkageswithgovernments.The network also approached some industry players (manufacturers and associations).Theideaisforbothpolicymakersandindustryplayerstoshape thenetworksactivities.TheKenyaSteeringCommittee,forexample,comprises two firms, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, a smallscale textile entrepreneur,andtwoofficialsfromtheMinistryofIndustrialisation. The second round of funding enabled the network to begin to undertake studiesofitsownintobothsmallandlargerscaleenterprises.Atthetimeof
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theinterview,thenetworkwasintheprocessofapplyingtotheIDRCforathird round of funding. The application was approved in principle and put into the pipelineforfunding,butbecauseofIDRCbudgetcutbacks,afinaldecisionhad notyetbeenmade.9 Inadditiontotheresearch,theKenyateamranacoupleofstrategicplanning workshopsforabout40smallscaleclothingandfootwearmanufacturersatthe startoftheprojectonhowtodevelopbusinessplansandruntheirbusinesses. There is also a capacitybuilding component to the networks activities, including handson training for country coordinators; the inclusion of novice researchersintheresearchteams(includingonePhDstudentwhoseresearchis intheclothingindustryfield);and,scholarshipsupporttosixmastersstudents inthenetworkmembercountries. Thenetworkisalmostentirelyfundedbyexternalagencies.Initialfundingwas fromthegovernmentoftheNetherlands.Additionalfundingwassecuredfrom theIDRCandtheBritishCouncilsDelPHE(DevelopmentPartnershipsinHigher Education) programme. The DelPHE funding is specifically for developing linkages between higher education institutions in the United Kingdom and beyond, with a focus on the fight against global poverty. The DelPHE funding enabled Network members to undertake collaborative research and to visit eachothersinstitutions.
ChildLabourProject InstituteforDevelopmentStudies,CollegeofHumanitiesandSocial Location Sciences Projectcoordinator MrJohnNjoka Timeframe September2006 December2008 Type Consultancyresearchproject Website
Mr. Njoka had undertaken a consultancy for the International Labour Organisation(ILO)duringwhichhehadobservedthattherewasaseriousneed forknowledgetosupporttheactionprogrammesintheILObecausetheywere supportingtheMinistryofLabourandcivilsocietyorganisationstotakeaction leadingtotheeliminationofchildlabour.TheILOinvitedMr.Njokatosubmita proposalforresearchintotheissueofchildlabour,theresultsofwhichwould feedintotheiractivitiesandplanning.Theproposalwassubmittedin2005. TheaimsoftheChildLabourProjectwerethreefold: To improve the capacity at the Institute for Development Studies for understanding/learning, appreciating and researching child labour issues by bothstudentsandstaff;
Sincetheinterview,theIDRChasawardedthenetworkaresearchgranttoundertakeatwo yearstudywhichwouldhavestartedinApril2010.
9
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Toenhancepolicydialogueanddebateamongstaff,studentsandstakeholders forassessingandanalysingeffortsandpracticesforwithdrawingchildrenfrom childlabouranditsworstforms;and To strengthen the knowledge base and intellectual linkages between efforts aimed at prevention and withdrawal, on the one hand, and critically related issues(suchasgender,childrenparticipation,vocationaltraining,HIV/Aidsand wealthcreation),ontheotherhand,withaviewtomainstreamingchildlabour inthosepolicyareas. The project involved research on different aspects of child labour including education, micro and smallscale enterprises, poverty education, commercial sex exploitation of children, vocational training and policy responses to these issuesastheyaffectchildlabourelimination. The project was funded by the ILOs International Programme on the EliminationofChildLabour.
AppliedTrainingProject(ATP)oftheNileBasinInitiative HydrometrologyandSurfaceWaterResourcesUnit,Departmentof Location Meteorology Projectleader Prof.FrancisMutua(NationalCoordinator) Timeframe 20042010 Type Capacitybuildingproject Website http://www5.uonbi.ac.ke/projects/nile/
Accordingtothewebsite,theNileBasinInitiativeisapartnershipinitiatedand ledbytheriparianstatesoftheNileRiverthroughtheCouncilofMinistersof Water Affairs of the Nile Basin states. The countries in the initiative include Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan,TanzaniaandUganda.LaunchedinFebruary1999,theInitiativeprovides an institutional mechanism, a shared vision, and a set of agreed policy guidelinestoprovideabasinwideframeworkforcooperativeaction. Theinitiativehastwomaincomponentsofcapacitydevelopmentinintegrated waterresourcesmanagement,namely,theNileBasinResearchProgrammeand theAppliedTrainingProject. According to the web site, the Applied Training Project supports the Shared Vision Programs vision to improve water planning and management cooperativelyinthebasinbyassistinginthedevelopmentofhumanresources andinstitutionalcapacitybuildingthrough: Strengtheningcapacityinselectedsubjectareasofintegratedwaterresources planningandmanagementwithintheregioninthemediumterm; Strengthening centres with the capacity to develop and deliver training programsinIntegratedWaterResourcesManagement;and Expanding the frequency and scope of basin interchange among water professionalsinvolvedincapacitybuildingactivities.
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A key aspect of the project is to develop capacity through masters and PhD training, as well as amongst government officials involved in activities which affect the river (e.g. water resources). A related aspect of the project is to create awareness amongst water users (e.g. farmers). With regard to postgraduate training, curricula were developed in each country according to their strengths (e.g. irrigation in Egypt, power generation in Tanzania, climate and water in Kenya). Masters and PhD students are sent for training to the countrywhichholdstherelevantexpertise. For the government, the project runs oneweek appreciation courses for government chief executive officers. The focus of these courses is to shift attitudesaboutwatermanagementthroughinformationsharing.Theneedfor ashiftinattitudeswasidentifiedinanearlierresearchproject.Atthetimeof theinterview,about20ofthesecoursesfortheministrieshadbeencompleted. Theprojectteamhasalsoworkedwithpoorcommunities,providingtrainingin things such as flood management. The team has also shared knowledge and informationaboutgeneratingincomethroughagriculturalactivitiessincemost ofthepeopleintheareaare fisher people and weresufferingbecause ofthe dwindlingfishresourcesintheriver. TheAppliedTrainingProjectisfundedbythe Netherlands. Other donorsfund aspects of interest to them. The United Nations Office for Project Services established a project management unit in Cairo to centralise/unify all the countryoperations.
StreetVendorsandTradersProject InstituteforDevelopmentStudies,CollegeofHumanitiesandSocial Location Sciences Projectleader Prof.WinnieMitullah Timeframe 2000;ongoing Type Participatoryactionresearchproject Website
Prof. Mitullahs academic background is in political science and public administrationandherearlyresearchinterestsfocusedonurbandevelopment and, in particular, lowincome housing. Prof. Mitullah then began to ask questions about how people actually survive in the slums and this led to an interestandresearchininformaltradeandstreetvending,duringthe1980s.In 2000,shedecidedtoconductaparticipatoryresearchprojectonstreettraders. In the process of conceptualising the project, she linked up with a range of organisations and activists including the IDRC (Ottawa and Nairobi), DFID, WIEGO(WomeninInformalEmployment,GlobalisingandOrganising)basedat Harvard University, and StreetNet International. At the time, StreetNet InternationalwasproposingasimilarstudyandsoProf.Mitullahpiggybacked ontotheproposalandthesearchforfunding. TheinitialaimoftheprojectattheInstituteforDevelopmentStudieslevelwas to avail information relevant for planning and understanding the activities of street vendors and informal traders in Kenya. The Institute project had a bias
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towards female street vendors but, during a participatory dissemination process, the vendors argued that vending had many men and a project could not be dedicated to women only. This resulted in a second proposal that was aimedatfacilitatingstreetvendorsandinformaltradersacrossbothsexes. Thefirstphaseoftheproject(20002003)comprisedaprogrammeofresearch and dialogue amongst female street traders in Kenya. The key research questions related to the socioeconomic status of these women, and their ability to organise and effectively lobby municipal authorities. The research team conducted a survey of female street vendors, exploring their level of organisation;documentedandanalysedpoliciesandregulationsaffectingthem; worked with NGOs and the female vendors themselves to identify their informationneeds;andfacilitatedinformationexchangeonthestatusoffemale streetvendorsbetweenNGOs,policymakersandthevendorsthemselves. During the finalisation of the study, the research team disseminated the preliminary findings to the street traders. They highlighted a key finding that thebiggestchallengefacingthestreettraderswasnotlackofcredit,butrather theirlackoforganisationasagrouporsector.Thisledtorequestsforhelpon howtogoaboutgettingorganised.Prof.Mitullahdecidedtohelpfacilitatethe organisation of the street traders and so wrote a funding proposal, entitled FacilitationofStreetandInformalTradersinKenya,againincollaborationwith organisationssuchasStreetNet,WIEGOandDFID.AsmallgrantfromStreetNet International made it possible to get the facilitation process going. In the beginning,thefacilitationwasdonebyProf.Mitullahonherownaspartofher communityserviceworkattheuniversity.Overtime,withadditionalfunds,it was possible to employ some additional help. Finally, linking up with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee enabled Prof. Mitullah to hand over the reins and play a more supporting role. The street vendors are now organised into urban alliances in seven towns in Kenya under the umbrella of KENASVIT. The organisation has an office in Nakuru manned by a fulltime coordinatorandanofficeassistant. The project is funded by the IDRC, DFID, StreetNet International, and the UnitarianUniversalistServiceCommittee.
DisasterandRiskManagementProject Location DepartmentofMeteorology,SchoolofPhysicalSciences Projectleader Prof.JohnMuthama(ProjectCoordinator) Timeframe January June2006 Type Shorttermconsultancyproject Website
Prof.Muthama respondedtoacallforproposalsadvertisedinthenewspaper by the Ministry of State and Special Programmes for a consultancy team to undertake a research project to assist in the development of a Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy for Kenya. Prof. Muthama and colleagues were selected fromabout40applicantstoundertakethework.
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The aim of the project was to develop a Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy for Kenyawithaspecificfocusonpreventativemeasuresandresilientbehaviourin disaster management. Prof. Muthama led a multidisciplinary team from the UoN, including staff from the Departments of Meteorology, Sociology, Civil Engineering and Geology. Part of the project included conducting a baseline surveywithtargetcommunitiestofindoutwhatchallengestheyfacedintimes ofnaturaldisasters. Thestrategy developed by the project team, which has been implemented by government, focuses on two key elements of disaster management, namely, preventativemeasuresandearlywarningsystems.Thisstrategyisseentohave important implications for poverty alleviation since it helps poor communities tobecomemoreresilienttodisasterswhichcanoftenhavedevastatingeffects ontheirlivelihoods. TheprojectwasfundedbytheMinistryofStateandSpecialProgrammes. *** Thekeyfeaturesofthesedevelopmentrelatedprojects/groupsaresummarised inTable5.1overpage. The projects/centres have been categorised according to type and include longerterm researchbased programmes, capacity building initiatives and consultancy projects. The economic development focus of five of the seven projects/centres is on the generation of research information to provide a foundationofunderstandingforfurtheractioninrelationtopovertyreduction or economic development initiatives. Two involve capacity building of key stakeholdersandonewasthedevelopmentofastrategyforpolicymakersthat wouldhaveimplicationsforpeoplelivinginpoverty. Asmightbeexpected,theconsultancyprojectswereinitiatedandtheagenda setbytheexternalagenciesthatfundedtheprojects,whereasthelongerterm research programmes were, for the most part, initiated by the academics themselves. It also appears that the longterm research programmes had the widest range of external linkages while the shortterm consultancy project reportednone.
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Table5.1:Overviewofthedevelopmentrelatedprojects Project/centre Classification Funder(s) Beneficiaries Externallinkages International research organisations, networksandNGOs Initiation/ agendasetting Economic developmentfocus
Longtermresearch African CollaborativeCentre andcapacity forEarthSystem buildingprogramme Science
Governmentagency, Africanscienceand theuniversity, policycommunities, foreigndonors NGOsandlocal communities
Universityacademic, Researchand international capacitybuilding academicnetwork around environmental issuesthatare linkedtopoverty University academics,national developmentneeds, donors Research informationonthe causesand strategiesfor reductionofpoverty tokeystakeholders Research informationonthe needsofsmalland largescale producerstokey stakeholders,and somebusiness support Research informationto informtheplanning andactivitiesofan international organisation involvedin eliminatingchild labour
ChronicPoverty ResearchCentre
Longtermresearch programme
Foreigndonors
AfricanClothingand Longtermresearch FootwearResearch programmeand Network businesssupport
Foreigndonors
Policymakers,civil society, development practitioners,the privatesector, donors,thegeneral public Policymakers,civil society, development partners,donor community,local community
Localand international researchcentres, government agencies
Smallandlarge producers, government, businessandNGOs inparticipating countries,academics inotheruniversities
University academics,country steering committees,foreign donors
ChildLabourProject
Consultancy researchproject
Foreigndonor
Organisations Otheruniversityand workingtowardsthe NGOsinKenya eliminationofchild labour,university studentsandfaculty, government agencies,donor
Foreigndonor
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Table5.1:Overviewofthedevelopmentrelatedprojects(continued) Project/centre AppliedTraining Project Classification Capacitybuilding project Funder(s) Foreigndonor Beneficiaries Peopledependent onandresponsible forwaterresources fromtheNileBasin inKenya Streetvendorsand informaltradersin Kenya Externallinkages Poorcommunities Initiation/ agendasetting TheNileBasin Initiative participants Economic developmentfocus Buildingthecapacity ofpeople responsibleforthe Nilewaterresources inKenya
StreetVendorsand TradersProject
Participatoryaction researchproject
Foreigndonors, internationalNGO
InternationalNGOs
DisasterandRisk Management Project
Shortterm consultancy
Governmentagency
MinistryofStateand Nonereported SpecialProgrammes
Universityacademic, Research internationalNGOs, informationonthe streetvendors needsoffemale streetvendorsas wellassupportin organising themselvesasa sector Governmentagency Developmentofa DisasterRisk ReductionStrategy forKenyawhichhas important implicationsfor peoplelivingin poverty
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5.3.2 Articulation
Table5.2belowsummarisesintervieweesresponsestothequestionaboutthe extenttowhichtheprojectorcentreaimsandobjectiveswereinresponseto/ articulated with the universitys strategic objectives (as contained in the institutions strategic plan), as well as the countrys national development priorities. Methodologically, we do recognise that project leaders might have drawn these links more strongly in retrospect than originally was the case in ordertogivetheimpressionofgreaterarticulation.Adeeperexplorationofthe circumstances of the initiation and agendasetting of the project would have enabled us to see these linkages more clearly ourselves. Nevertheless, the reportedlinkagesaresufficientforafirstlevelanalysis. AscanbeseenfromTable5.2,onlytwooftheprojectsreportedarticulationof project aims to institutional strategic objectives, and only in broad terms. Counterintuitively,thesetwoprojectswereinitiatedbyexternalstakeholders. Most of the projects were able to identify national priorities to which their objectiveswerelinkedand,insomecases,inveryspecificterms. Table5.3indicatestheextenttowhicheachprojectorcentrehadlinkageswith anexternalagencythathasorwilldirectlyorindirectlyimplement(orutilise) the outputs. Table 5.4 summarises the comments made by project leaders aboutthefinancialsustainabilityoftheprojects.Finally,Table5.5summarises thetotalarticulationratingsforthesixprojects/centres.
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Table5.2:Articulationwithinstitutionalobjectivesandnationalpriorities Project/centre African Collaborative CentreforEarth SystemScience ChronicPoverty ResearchCentre Funder(s) Government agency,the university, foreigndonors Foreigndonors Initiation/ agendasetting Universityacademic, internationalacademic network Universityacademics, nationaldevelopment needs,donors Institutionalstrategicobjectives Nonereported Nationalpriorities Theprojectsarticulatenational,regionaland panAfricanplansandagendas(e.g.MDGs, NEPAD)onissuessuchasfoodsecurity,water andclimatechange. Reducingpovertyisoneofthekeyfocusareasof thesocialpillarofKenyaVision2030.
Nonereported
AfricanClothing andFootwear Research Network ChildLabour Project
Foreigndonors
Universityacademics, Promotingexcellencethroughexport countrysteering diversificationandlinkagesbetweenindustrial committees,foreigndonors growthandrealisationofVision2030. Foreigndonor Verybroadly,intermsofaddressing developmentconcerns,ofwhichchildlabouris one. Nonereported
Promotingindustrialgrowth,creating employment,andpovertyreduction.
Foreigndonor
Childlabourasakeyhumanresourceissueis wellarticulatedasabarriertonationalgrowth anddevelopmentintheVision2030andthe mediumtermdevelopmentplan. Theaimtocontributetoalleviatingpoverty articulatesoneoftheprioritiesofthenational developmentplan. Projectarticulatesemphasisinnational developmentplanonsupportingtheinformal economy,aswellasKenyasPrivateSector DevelopmentStrategy(goal5:support entrepreneurshipandindigenousenterprise development). Theprojectwasaresponsetotheneedforthe developmentofaDisasterRiskReduction StrategyforKenyafortheperiod(20062016).
AppliedTraining Project
Foreigndonor
TheNileBasinInitiative participants
StreetVendors andTraders Project
Foreigndonors, international NGO
Universityacademic, internationalNGOs,street vendors
Nonereported
Government agency
Governmentagency
Thestrategicplantargetsinvolvementofstaff innationaldevelopmentprioritiesthrough consultanciesandcommunityservice.
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Table5.3:Initiation/agendasetting,fundingsourcesandimplementationagencies Project/centre AfricanCollaborative CentreforEarth SystemScience ChronicPoverty ResearchCentre Initiation/agendasetting Funder(s) Implementationagencies Theprogrammemaintainslinkageswithvariousrelevantgovernment ministrieswithaviewtofutureimplementationbutthereisnodirect linktoaspecificimplementationagency. ThecentreworkscloselywiththeMinistryofPlanningwhichusesthe centresdataandsurveymethods,andtheirpersonnelaretrainedin issuesrelatingtopoverty. Althoughthenetworkdoesmaintaincloselinkageswithsmalland largescaleproducersandrelevantgovernmentagenciesthroughthe courseofitsprojects,nodirectlinktoaspecificimplementation agencywasreported. ResearchfindingsfeddirectlytotheILOwhichcanbeseenasan implementationagency.Inaddition,theMinistryofLabourrevisedits NationalPlanofActiononChildLabourinlinewiththeresearch findings. InadditiontomastersandPhDtraining,theprojectbuildscapacityof waterusersandgovernmentofficialsresponsibleforwater managementand,inthissense,haveadirectlinktoimplementation agencies. Theprojectworksdirectly,inaparticipatoryway,withthefemale streetvendors,andincollaborationwithorganisationsthatdeal directlywithstreetvendors. TheMinistryofStateandSpecialProgrammes
Universityacademic, Governmentagency,theuniversity, internationalacademicnetwork foreigndonors
Universityacademics,national developmentneeds,donors
Foreigndonors
AfricanClothingand FootwearResearch Network ChildLabourProject
Universityacademics,country steeringcommittees,foreign donors Foreigndonor
Foreigndonors
Foreigndonor
TheNileBasinInitiative participants
Foreigndonor
Universityacademic, internationalNGOs,street vendors Governmentagency
Foreigndonors,internationalNGO
DisasterandRisk ManagementProject
GovernmentAgency
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Table5.4:Financialsustainabilityoftheprojects/centres Project/centre Classification Timeframe 1989;ongoing Funder(s) Government agency,the university,foreign donors Foreigndonors Financialsustainability Theprogrammehasawidevarietyoffundingsourcesandhasexhibitedagreat capacityforattractingfundsforoverthirtyyears.Intermsofsustainability,Prof. OdadaanticipatesthatsomeofhisfirstclassPhDgraduateswillcontinuehis workonceheretires.Over50PhDand150MScgraduateshavebeentrainedand arenowpartofthenetworkintheirrespectivecountriesandinstitutions. AlthoughtheCentredependsentirelyonexternalsourcesforitsfunding,theunit headexpressedconfidenceintheCentrebeingabletoattractcontinuedfunding overthelongterm. FuturefinancialsustainabilityoftheNetworkisanissue.Atthetimeofthe interview,therewasstillnoconfirmationofwhethertheywouldgetathird roundoffundingfromtheIDRCsincetheirbudgethadbeenslashedby50% becauseoftheglobaleconomiccrisis.Theprojectleaderforeseestheneedto searchformultiplesourcesoffundinginordertokeeptheNetworkgoing. Thiswasaonceoffconsultancyproject.However,theprojectleadernotedthat theprojecthasgeneratedinterestinchildlabourissuesattheuniversityandthat postgraduatecoursesonchildlabourissueshavebeenintroduced. Throughtheproject,theNileBasinUniversitiesForumwasestablished.This forum,whenfullyoperational,isexpectedtosustainmostoftheactivitiesofthe project.However,nospecificplansforfinancialsustainabilitywerereported. Thestreetvendorsarenoworganisedintourbanalliances.Partofthefinancial sustainabilitycomesfromthepaymentofannualsubscriptionstothealliances andthrougharevolvingloanfundwhichwaskickstartedwithfundsleveragedby theproject.Thefundsgeneratedinthiswaywillbeusedtosupporttheurban alliancesandthesecretariat. Onceoffconsultancyproject
AfricanCollaborative Longterm CentreforEarth researchand SystemScience capacitybuilding programme ChronicPoverty ResearchCentre Longterm research programme Longterm research programmeand businesssupport Consultancy researchproject
2003;ongoing
AfricanClothingand FootwearResearch Network
2001;ongoing
Foreigndonors
ChildLabourProject
September2006 December2008
Foreigndonor
Capacitybuilding project
20042010
Foreigndonor
Participatory actionresearch project
2000;ongoing
Foreigndonors, internationalNGO
Shortterm DisasterandRisk ManagementProject consultancy
JanuaryJune2006
Government agency
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Table5.5:Articulationrating(maximumscore=13) African Collaborative CentreforEarth SystemScience ChronicPoverty ResearchCentre AfricanClothing andFootwear Research Network ChildLabour Project AppliedTraining Project StreetVendors andTraders Project DisasterandRisk Management Project 1 1 1 1 2 6
Project/centre
Institutionalobjectives 0 0 1 1 0 0 Nationalpriorities 1 2 1 1 2 2 No.offundingsources 3 1 1 1 1 2 Fundingsustainability 3 2 2 1 2 3 Implementationagency 1 2 1 2 2 2 Totalarticulationrating 8 7 6 6 7 9 Key: Institutionalobjectives/Nationalpriorities: 2=Direct(linktospecificstrategicobjectiveornationalpriority) 1=Indirect(broad/generalreference) 0=None(noreportedlink) No.offundingsources: 1foreachofthefollowing:University;Government;Foreigndonor;Incomegeneration Fundingsustainability: 1=Onceoff,shortterm(aprojectthatisoneyearorlessindurationandwhichreceivesonlyoneroundoffunding) 2=Longtermbutcapped(aprojectthatismorethanoneyearindurationandwhichreceivesoneormoreroundsoffunding,butthefundingiscapped) 3=Ongoing(aprojectwhichreceivesongoingfunding,e.g.fromtheuniversityorfromincomegeneration) Linktoimplementationagency: 2=Direct 1=Indirect 0=None
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5.3.3 Contributiontostrengtheningtheacademiccore
Table5.6belowsummarisestheinformationpertainingtoeachoftheprojects withregardtotheirconnectiontotheacademiccoreactivitiesoftheuniversity. Core strengthening activities include the generation of new knowledge; the involvementofstudentsintheprojectaspartoftheirformaltraining;project knowledge and experience feeds into teaching and curriculum development; project knowledge and experience is published in academic publications; and the project is linked to international academic networks. In order to rate the extent to which the projects contribute to strengthening the academic core, each of the five factors highlighted above were assigned a value of 1 when present.TheresultsarecapturedinTable5.7. Interestingly, both the longterm research programmes and the consultancy projects generate new knowledge. In fact, compared to the consultancy projects encountered in other universities in the HERANA sample, the consultancy projects reviewed here make a fairly significant contribution to strengthening,andnotweakening,theacademiccore.
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Table5.6:Contributiontostrengtheningtheacademiccore Project/centre Classification New/existing knowledge Studentinvolvement AfricanCollaborative Longterm CentreforEarth researchand SystemScience capacity building programme ChronicPoverty ResearchCentre Longterm research programme Generatenew andapply existing knowledge AnumberofmastersandPhD studentshavefocusedon researchtopicslinkedtothe programmeovertheyears. Linktoacademiccore Teaching/curriculum Publishing Linkto international academicnetworks Yes
Theprojecthasresultedinto Numerousbooksand journalarticlesover twonewprogrammes:on theyears IntegratedWaterResource Management,andon ClimateChangeAdaptation. TheInstitutereliesheavily onitsresearchfindingsfor teaching/curriculum development. Nopeerreviewed articlesorbooks
Generatenew knowledge
Onestudenthascompleted hermastersprojectpaper basedonchronicpoverty.
Yes
AfricanClothingand FootwearResearch Network
Longterm research programmeand business support
Generatenew andapply existing knowledge
Yes,mastersand(one)PhD studentshavefocusedtheir researchontopicsrelatingto theNetworksresearch.
Yes,theprojectleader teachesontheMastersin DevelopmentStudies programmeandproject knowledgealsofeedsinto othercourses. Courseonchildlabourhas beenintroducedfor graduatestudents.
Twobooksandone journalarticle
Yes
ChildLabourProject
Consultancy Generatenew researchproject knowledge
Fivemastersstudents participatedintheprojectbut notaspartoftheirformal training.
Abook
No
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Project/centre
Classification
New/existing knowledge Studentinvolvement Applyexisting knowledge Thusfar,ninemastersand onePhDstudenthave focusedtheirresearchon topicslinkedtotheNileBasin Initiative. Onemastersstudentsdid theirthesisonatopiclinked totheproject.Otherstudents assistedwithdatacollection butnotaspartoftheirformal training.
Linktoacademiccore Teaching/curriculum Theprojectitselfinvolved thedevelopmentofa postgraduatecurriculum. Alsoundergraduatecourse onHazardandDisaster Managementdeveloped. Publishing Notyet
Linkto international academicnetworks Yes
Capacity buildingproject
Participatory actionresearch project
Generatenew andapply existing knowledge
Yes,althoughinasomewhat Twobooks adhocfashion.
No
Shortterm consultancy
Generatenew knowledge
Studentswereinvolvedin Yes collectingdata,aswellasdata analysisandreportwriting. Formost,thiswaspartof theirformaltraining.
No
No
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Table5.7:Strengtheningacademiccorerating Teaching/ curriculum development 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Formaltraining ofstudents 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Generatenew knowledge 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 Academic publications 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 Linkto international academic networks 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
Project/centre AfricanCollaborativeCentreforEarthSystemScience ChronicPovertyResearchCentre AfricanClothingandFootwearResearchNetwork ChildLabourProject AppliedTrainingProject StreetVendorsandTradersProject DisasterandRiskManagementProject Key: 1=Yes 0=No
Totalrating 5 4 5 4 3 4 3
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5.3.4 Analysisoftheconnectednessofdevelopmentprojects/centres
In order to analyse the development projects identified for the study, we operationalised the notion of connectedness along two axes the first, articulation,referstotheextenttowhichthereissomecoherencebetweenthe developmentprojects/centresandtheobjectivesandprioritiesofgovernment and the institution, as well as linkages between the project and key external stakeholders, and especially implementation agencies. The second axis considers the extent to which the development projects/centres serve to strengthenorweakentheacademiccoreoftheinstitution. Thetotalratingsforeachprojectintermsofitsarticulationandcontributionto strengtheningtheacademiccoreoftheuniversityaresummarisedinTable5.8 below. Using these ratings, each of the projects is then plotted on the articulationandacademiccoreaxesinFigure5.1.
Table5.8:Summaryofratings Project/centre AfricanCollaborativeCentreforEarthSystemScience ChronicPovertyResearchCentre AfricanClothingandFootwearResearchNetwork ChildLabourProject AppliedTrainingProject StreetVendorsandTradersProject DisasterandRiskManagementProject Articulation 8 7 6 6 7 9 6 Academiccore 5 4 5 4 3 4 3
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Figure5.1:Plottingthedevelopmentrelatedprojects
Direct articulation
12 11 10 9 8 SVTP4,9 ACCESS5,8 ATP3,7 4 CPRC4,7 CLP4,6 5 ACFRN5,6 Strengthening 6 core
Weakening academic 0 core
DRMP3,6 1 2
7 6 5 3 4 3 2 1 0
academic
Indirect articulation
Key: ACCESS CPRC ACFRN CLP ATP SVTP DRMP
AfricanCollaborativeCentreforEarthSystemScience ChronicPovertyResearchCentre AfricanClothingandFootwearResearchNetwork ChildLabourProject AppliedTrainingProject StreetVendorsandTradersProject DisasterandRiskManagementProject
Following the analytical proposition, our assumption would be that for developmentrelated projects to make the most sustained contribution to development they would best fall within the top righthand quadrant in the graph; in other words, their activities articulate with national priorities and institutional strategic objectives; they have close linkages with key external stakeholders, especially any implementation agencies; and they contribute towards strengthening the academic core of the institution, rather than weakeningit. As can be seen from Figure 5.1, three of the projects fall squarely in the top right quadrant which implies that they are able to make a sustainable contribution to development. All three are longterm research programmes, twoofwhichreportednumerousexternallinkages,andtwoofwhichhadmore than one funding source and longterm or ongoing funding sources. All three alsoscoredwellintermsofstrengtheningtheacademiccore.
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Onthewhole,however,theprojectsdidnotscoreverywellonthearticulation rating.Fiveofthesevenreportednoarticulationofprojectaimstoinstitutional strategicobjectivesandonlythreehaddirectarticulationwithspecificnational policiesorstrategies.Fiveofthesevenprojectsonlyhadonesourceoffunding (usuallyforeigndonors).
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Part6
Keyfindings
ATAGLANCE
Macroobservationsabouthighereducationandeconomicdevelopmentin Kenya ThenatureofthepactaroundtheroleofhighereducationinKenya ThestrengthoftheUoNsacademiccore Theconnectednessoftheuniversitysdevelopmentrelatedactivitiestothe academiccore
6.1
Introduction
A vast amount of data has been gathered and presented in the preceding sections of this report. But what does this tell us about the possible contribution that higher education in Kenya can make to the countrys economicdevelopment?Inordertoanswerthisbroaderquestion,wereturnto thekeyconceptsandquestionswhichweresummarisedinsection1.1.3.Here, ourpointofdeparturewasthathighereducationsroleinandcontributionto economic development can best be understood by investigating the following threeinterrelatedfactors: The nature of the pact between the universities, political authorities and societyatlarge; Thenature,sizeandcontinuityoftheuniversitysacademiccore;and The level of coordination, the effectiveness of implementation, and connectednessinthelargerpolicycontextofuniversities. Furthermore, these factors need to be considered in relation to various contextual features including local circumstances, institutional characteristics andexternalrelations. Bywayofconcludingthisreport,wereviewandanalysethedatapresentedin ordertoanswerthefollowingquestions: HowdoesKenyafareonthepreconditionsforaneffectiveandproductive relationshipbetweenhighereducationandeconomicdevelopmentidentifiedin theinternationalcasestudies(seePillay2010b)?
1.
2. Towhatextentisthereapactbetweenkeystakeholders(nationaland institutional)inKenyaabouttheroleofhighereducationingeneral,andin relationtoeconomicdevelopmentinparticular?
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3. DoestheUoN,asaspecificcase,havecapacitytomakeacontributionto economicdevelopmentintermsof: a. Thenatureandstrengthoftheacademiccore,and b. The connectedness of its developmentrelated activities to the academic core?
6.2
Some macroobservations about higher education and economic developmentinKenya

Pundy Pillays investigation of three systems (Finland, South Korea, North Carolina)suggestedanumberofpreconditionsforaneffectiveandproductive relationship between higher education and economic development (Pillay 2010).Theseweresummarisedinsection1.1.2. HowdoesKenyafareinmeetingthesepreconditions?
High quality schooling. Participation rates are relatively low at both the primary and secondary levels. The net enrolment ratio in primary education increased significantly from 63% in 1999 to 75% in 2006, but still leaves the country far short of achieving universal primary education. The secondary schooling participationrates compare favourably with most African countries. In2006,theGERinsecondaryschoolingwas50%andthenetenrolmentratio was 42% (UNESCO 2009). The corresponding averages for subSaharan Africa were 32% and 25%, and for developing countries 60% and 53%, respectively. Both the GCI and GII reports comment favourably on the quality of Kenyan schooling.Thesurvivalratetothelastgradeofprimaryschoolingwas84%in 2006 (the average for subSaharan Africa was 67%, and that for developing countries81%).Moreover,theaveragerateofrepetitioninprimaryschooling wasalow6%(ibid.). Effective economic and education planning. There is acknowledgment of the link between education and economic development but little effort has been made to put in place the appropriate policies and necessary institutional mechanisms in government to effect a closer coordination of education and economicpolicies. Theroleofthestate.Thestateplaysanimportantrolewithrespecttofunding, aswellasencouragingprivatesectorprovisionofhighereducation.Thestates policy documents give prominence to the role of tertiary education in developmentandtotheroleofscienceandtechnologyaswell. Partnerships. In general, no evidence could be gleaned of partnerships betweenthestate,theuniversitiesandtheprivatesector. Institutional differentiation. Substantial differentiation occurs in the higher education system with the presence of universities, university colleges,
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polytechnics,teachertrainingcollegesandothercolleges.Withintheuniversity sector, less differentiation occurs with all institutions aspiring to becoming teaching and research institutions, with significant duplication of highcost facultiessuchasmedicine. Quality. Pockets of good to high quality exist in the higher education sector, especiallywithrespecttotheUoN.However,qualityneedstobecomeamuch morewidespreadfeatureofthehighereducationsystem. Funding.Statefundingoftertiaryeducationislowinabsolutetermsgiventhe extentofneedandtheimperativetoincreaseaccessandenhanceequity. Innovation.KenyaisrankedrelativelyhighintheGII,especiallyintermsofits innovation inputs. It therefore has the basic ingredients for innovation and participationintheknowledgeeconomybutappearstobeincapablethusfarof translating this into appropriate inputs. However, there are two encouraging featureswithrespecttoinnovationandprospectsfortheknowledgeeconomy. The first is the merging of higher education and science and technology into oneministry.Thesecondisthepolicyproposalsthathavebeendevelopedto definetheroleofscienceandtechnologyineconomicdevelopment.
6.3
EvidenceofapactaroundtheroleofhighereducationinKenya?
For the purposes of this study, we use the definition of a pact provided by Gornitzkaetal.(2007:184): A pactis a fairlylongtermculturalcommitmenttoandfrom theUniversity,asaninstitutionwithitsownfoundationalrules of appropriate practices, causal and normative beliefs, and resources, yet validated by the political and social system in whichtheUniversityisembedded.Apact,then,isdifferentfrom a contract based on continuous strategic calculation of expectedvaluebypublicauthorities,organisedexternalgroups, university employees, and students all regularly monitoring and assessing the University on the basis of its usefulness for theirselfinterest,andactingaccordingly. Thekeyactorsofthepactarenational,institutionalandexternalstakeholders. It is assumed that the stronger the pact between universities, university leadership,nationalauthoritiesandsocietyatlarge,thebettertheuniversities willbeabletomakeasignificant,sustainedcontributiontodevelopment. Ourinterestisinexploringtheextenttowhichthereisapactaroundtherole for higher education in economic development in Kenya. Key to the developmentofsuchapactisagreementorconsensusthatthereshouldbea
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role and then about what that role should entail. In order to investigate this aspect,wehavesoughttoaddressthefollowingquestions: Is there a role for knowledge production and for universities in the national developmentplan? How do the relevant national authorities and institutional stakeholders talk aboutandconceptualisetheroleofuniversities? Theroleofknowledgeanduniversitiesinnationalandinstitutionalpoliciesand plans were operationalised into a series of indicators. These indicators were thenratedona321scalebythreeoftheresearchers.Theindicatorsandthe ratings(indicatedbyshading)arepresentedinTable6.1below.
Table6.1:RoleforknowledgeanduniversitiesindevelopmentinKenya Theconceptofaknowledge economyfeaturesinthe nationaldevelopmentplan Aroleforhighereducationin developmentinnational policiesandplans NationalRating=6/6 3Strong 2Weak Appearsina Onlymentioned numberofpolicies inonepolicy 3Prevalent Clearlymentioned indevelopment policies 2Weak 1Absent Notmentioned atall 1Absent
Institutional(UoN)Rating=4/6 Conceptofaknowledge 3 2 economyfeaturesin Featuresstrongly Vaguereference institutionalpoliciesandplans instrategicplan instrategicplan and/orresearch orresearch policy/strategy policy Institutionalpolicieswith regardtotheuniversitysrole ineconomicdevelopment 3 Institutionalpolicy 2 Embeddedin strategicplan, researchpolicy etc
1 Notmentioned atall
1 Noformal policies
Atthenationallevel,Kenyaiscertainlymovinginthedirectionofaknowledge driveneconomythroughimportantinitiativessuchasKenyaVision2030,aswell astheestablishmentofaMinistryofHigherEducation,ScienceandTechnology a move which recognises the critical role played by R&D in accelerating economic development in newlyindustrialising countries. Vision 2030 also argues for creating globally competitive and adaptive human resources based onqualityeducation,trainingandresearch.However,thereislimitedevidence that this vision is broadly accepted and, as was pointed out by a respondent, thereisnospecificroleoutlinedforuniversities.Also,theministryresponsible for higher education has only spots of capacity to steer the system, funding allocationisonlysomewhatpredictable,andtherearenoparticularincentives to steer the system in the direction of the new vision. One strength is a differentiated system with multiple sources of funding. Despite the fact that policycoordinationisinthePresidentsOfficeanapproachtriedandfailedin
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South Africa coordination of policy across departments, and between governmentanduniversities,isatmostintermittent. At the university level, reference is made in the current strategic plan to the knowledgeeconomyandtotheuniversitysroleineconomicdevelopment,but these references are weaker than in the previous strategic plan. The current strategic plan refers to teaching and learning as the core business of the university, while innovation and R&D are described as issues the university must address. Despite a number of senior institutional leaders saying in different ways that research is the principal activity that distinguishes the universityfromtertiaryinstitutions,bothgovernmentandinstitutionalsupport for research is, in the words of a number of respondents, negligible. Furthermore,neithertheNationalCouncilforScienceandTechnologynorthe CommissionforHigherEducationhave,asyet,playedmuchofaroleinraising significant research funding. Rather surprising is that despite the policy commitment to highlevel skills training and labour market relevance, programmeslinkingacademicsandstudentstothelabourmarketaremostlyad hocandnotinstitutionalised. FINDINGS: In certain government departments there is a strong emphasis on the knowledge economy. However, despite Vision 2030, there is a lack of clarity and agreement (pact) about a development model and the role of higher educationindevelopment. There is no broad agreement that knowledge, and by implication higher education,iskeytodevelopment. The reorganisation of the ministry shows an emerging awareness about the importance of the knowledge economy approach, perhaps more so at governmentthanatuniversitylevel.
6.3.1 Notionsoftheroleofknowledgeanduniversitiesindevelopment
Howdonationalandinstitutionalstakeholdersconceptualisetheroleofhigher education and the university in development? And, to what extent is there consensus or disjuncture between the national and institutional levels? Our conceptualframeworkforaddressingthesequestionscomprisesfournotionsof therelationshipbetweenhighereducation(especiallyuniversities)andnational development.Thesefournotions10,whichareelaborateduponbelow,emerge intheinteractionbetweenthefollowingtwosetsofscenarios: Whether or not a role is foreseen for new knowledge in the national developmentstrategy,and
10
ThesefournotionsarebasedonideasdevelopedbyMaassenandCloete(2006)andMaassen andOlsen(2007).
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Whether or not universities, as knowledge institutions, have a role in the nationaldevelopmentstrategy. These two sets of scenarios, and the concomitant four notions of the role of universities,aredepictedinFigure6.1below: Universitynotpartof developmentstrategy
Figure6.1:Thefournotionsoftheroleofknowledgeanduniversitiesindevelopment
Ancillary
No/marginal rolefornew knowledgein development strategy
Self governing
Centralrolefor newknowledge indevelopment strategy
Instrument
Engine
Universitypartof developmentstrategy Thefournotionsareelaboratedasfollows: The university as ancillary: In this notion, there is a strong focus on political/ideological startingpoints for development. Consequently, it is assumed that there is no need for a strong (scientific) knowledge basis for developmentstrategiesandpolicies.Neitherisitnecessaryfortheuniversityto playadirectroleindevelopmentsincetheemphasisisoninvestmentsinbasic healthcare, agricultural production and primary education. The role of universities is to produce educated civil servants and professionals (with teaching based on transmitting established knowledge rather than on research),aswellasdifferentformsofcommunityservice. The university as selfgoverning institution: Knowledge produced at the universityisconsideredimportantfornationaldevelopmentespeciallyforthe
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improvement of healthcare and the strengthening of agricultural production. However, this notion assumes that the most relevant knowledge is produced when academics from the north and the south cooperate in externally funded projects, rather than being steered by the state. This notion portrays theuniversityasplayinganimportantroleindevelopingthenationalidentity, and in producing highlevel bureaucrats and scientific knowledge but not directlyrelatedtonationaldevelopment;theuniversityiscommittedtoserving societyasawholeratherthanspecificstakeholders.Thisnotionassumesthat the university is most effective when it is left to itself, and can determine its ownprioritiesaccordingtouniversalcriteria,independentoftheparticularities ofaspecificgeographical,national,culturalorreligiouscontext.Italsoassumes thereisnoneedtoinvestadditionalpublicfundstoincreasetherelevanceof theuniversity. The university as instrument for development agendas: In this notion, the universityhasanimportantroletoplayinnationaldevelopmentnotthrough the production of new scientific knowledge, but through expertise exchange andcapacitybuilding.Thefocusoftheuniversitysdevelopmenteffortsshould be on contributing to reducing poverty and disease, to improving agricultural production, and to support small business development primarily through consultancy activities (especially for government agencies and development aid)andthroughdirectinvolvementinlocalcommunities. Theuniversityasengineofdevelopment:Thisnotionassumesthatknowledge plays a central role in national development in relation to improving healthcareandagriculturalproduction,butalsoinrelationtoinnovationsinthe private sector, especially in areas such as information and communication technology,biotechnologyandengineering.Withinthisnotiontheuniversityis seenas(oneof)thecoreinstitutionsinthenationaldevelopmentmodel.The underlying assumption is that the university is the only institution in society thatcanprovideanadequatefoundationforthecomplexitiesoftheemerging knowledge economy when it comes to producing the relevant skills and competencies of the employees in all major sectors, as well as to the productionofuseorientedknowledge. Table6.2belowsummarisesthenotionsoftheroleofhighereducationheldby national and institutional stakeholders, and indicates whether the notion is strong, prevalent, present or absent altogether. While there is widespread supportforthenotionofhighereducationcontributingtodevelopment,there is neither in the national Vision 2030 nor in the universitys strategic plan, a clear vision or notion as to how this is to happen. Interestingly, it seems that while the government has moved towards more policy emphasis on research and innovation, the university has somewhat moved away from it. The dominantpositionsseemtobebetweenmakingamoredirectinstrumentalist contributiontocommunityandindustrydevelopment,andthemoretraditional selfgovernanceapproach,butwiththeemphasisonteachingandlearning,not
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onR&D.Forbothgovernmentanduniversity,theengineofdevelopmentmodel isstilllargelysymbolicpolicy.
Table6.2:ComparingnationalandinstitutionalnotionsoftheroleofhighereducationinKenya Notions Ancillary Nationalstakeholders Strongfeelingthat universitymustbe involved Universityimportantfor development,butnot clearontherole Expectationthat universityshouldmakea moredirectcontribution tosocialandhealth problems Stronglyreflectedin futurevision,butnotin reallocationofresources Institutionalstakeholders Broadlysupportivefor contributingtoVision2030 Oscillatebetweenteaching learningandconsultancyand research Stillastrongbeliefamongst academics
Selfgoverning
Instrumentfor developmentagendas
Enginefordevelopment
Strongonrhetoric,butseemto bevacillating
Present Prevalent Strong FINDINGS: Intermsofnotionsoftheroleoftheuniversityindevelopment,atthenational level there is quite a strong leaning towards the engine of development approach, combined with a more direct instrumental approach, while at the university there is a more traditional divide between instrumental and self governance. Atneitherthenationalnortheinstitutionallevelisthereagreementaboutthe role of the university in development. It is quite surprising that amongst university leadership there is such low support for a knowledge economy approach.
Key:
6.4
TheacademiccoreoftheUniversityofNairobi
Theuniversitysuniquecontributiontodevelopmentisviaknowledgeeither transmitting knowledge to individuals who will go out into the world and contribute to society in a variety of ways (teaching), or producing and disseminating knowledge that can be applied to the problems of society and economy (research, engagement). Part of our conceptual framework for understanding what impacts on a universitys ability to make a sustainable contribution to development therefore focuses on the nature and strength of itsknowledgeactivities.
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According to Burton Clark (1998), when an enterprising university evolves a strongersteeringcoreanddevelopsanoutreachstructure,itsheartlandisstill in the traditional academic departments, formed around disciplines and some interdisciplinaryfields.Theheartlandiswheretraditionalacademicvaluesand activities such as teaching, research and training of the next generation of academics occur. Instead of heartland, we use the concept academic core. According to our analytical assumption, it is this core that needs to be strengthenedifflagshipuniversitiessuchasthoseincludedinthisstudyas keyknowledgeinstitutions,istocontributetodevelopment. While most universities also engage in knowledge activities in the area of community service or outreach, our contention is that the backbone or the foundationoftheuniversitysbusinessisitsacademiccorethatis,itsteaching via academic degree programmes, its research output, and the production of doctorates(thoseindividualswho,inthefuture,willberesponsibleforcarrying out the core knowledge activities). Furthermore, in societies where there is a strong pact between higher education and society, the universities have been able (and allowed) to develop a strong core of academic activities that forms thebasisforalltheiractivities. OurinterestintheacademiccoreoftheUoNhasthefollowingtwodimensions: 1. Whatisthestrengthoftheacademiccoreoftheinstitution? 2. Hastheacademiccorebeenstrengtheningorweakeninginrecentyears? In Part 4 of this report, we presented a detailed profile and analysis of the natureandstrengthoftheUoNacademiccore.Theanalysiswasundertakenon thebasisofsevenkeyindicators(seeTable6.3below).TheratingoftheUoN indicators was undertaken on the basis of a cluster analysis which included South Africas 22 contact universities and the seven other African universities includedinthestudy.
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Table6.3:UniversityofNairobi:Ratingoftheacademiccore 1 Indicator Science,engineeringand technologyenrolments andgraduations Postgraduate/ undergraduate enrolmentsratio Masters/PhDenrolment ratio Teachingload:Academic staff/studentratio Proportionofacademic staffwithdoctorates Researchincomeper permanentacademicstaff member Doctoralgraduates Researchpublications Overallratio18:1 in2007,and9:1 inSET 71%ofa permanent academichave doctorates Detailedinformation notgiven,assumedto beinadequate Graduatesin2007 constituted2.5%of permanentacademics Outputsin2007is0.11 ofpublicationsper permanentacademic Strong(3) Medium(2) Weak(1) SETstudents=31%in 2007,butoutputpoor: 0nly50%ofSETintakes expectedtograduate Proportionof postgraduatesfellfrom 20%in2001to16%in 2007.Ratioofmasters todoctoralenrolments veryhighat21:1
3 4
5 6 7
ThefollowingobservationscanbemadeabouttheacademiccoredataforUoN: 1. SETenrolmentsUoNsSETenrolmentsgrewfrom7600in2001to12300in 2007,atanaverageannualrateof8.4%.UoNsproportionofSETstudents droppedfrom33%in2001to31%in2007.UoNsSETgraduationrate,taking accountofthefullperiod20012007,hasbeenpoor.Only50%ofstudents enteringSETprogrammesinUoNcanbeexpectedtocompletetheir qualifications. 2. PostgraduateenrolmentsUoNsproportionofpostgraduatestudentsinits totalenrolmentfellfrom20%in2001to16%in2007,mainlybecauseofthe rapidgrowthinundergraduateenrolments.Mastersenrolmentsgrewfrom3 937in2001to6145in2007,anaverageannualincreaseof10.4%.Doctoral enrolmentshoweverfellfrom190in2001toonly62in2007.Thisimpliesthat UoNsincreasedtotalmastersgraduatesarenotmovingintodoctoralstudies. 3. TeachingloadBetween2001and2007,UoNsFTEacademicstafftotalgrew atanaverageannualgrowthrateof1%,whileFTEstudentsincreasedatan averageannualrateofnearly8%.ItsaverageFTEstudenttoFTEacademicstaff ratio,asaconsequence,rosefrom12:1in2001to18:1in2007.ItsSETratio remainedneverthelessremainedfavourablebySouthAfricanstandards,being only9:1in2007.Itsbusiness/managementratio,asisthecasewithmanyother
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4.
5.
6.
7.
universities,wasunacceptablyhighat42:1in2007.Aconclusionwhichcanbe drawnistheUoNspermanentacademicsinthefieldsofSETmust,in2007, havehadteachingloadsatlevelswhichshouldhaveenabledthemtoengagein researchactivities,includingthesupervisionofresearchstudents. QualificationsofstaffIn2007,morethan900(or71%)ofUoNspermanent academicstaffhaddoctoratesastheirhighestformalqualifications.This proportionof71%iswellabovethehighestreportedbySouthAfrican universities. ResearchfundingUoNdidnotprovideclearinformationonresearchfunding. Ontheassumptionsmadeintheanalyses,itsresearchfundingmightnotbe sufficienttosustainstrongresearchactivities. DoctoralgraduatesTherewasanincreaseindoctoralgraduatesof3.5% between2001and2007,butfromaratherlowbaseof26,whichresultsinthe verylowratioof2.5%ofdoctoralgraduatestopermanentacademicstaff.The doctoralenrolmentsdecreasedfrom190in2001to62in2007arather dramaticdropwhichwillsurelyaffectfuturegraduateoutputs. ResearchpublicationsIntermsofresearchpublications,UoNsoutputislow. Its2007ratioofpublicationunitsperpermanentacademicwas,at0.11,well belowtheratioof0.50whichhasbeensetasatargetforSouthAfricas researchuniversities. In terms of input variables, UoN has teaching loads, particularly in SET, which should enable its academic staff to support research activities. It also has a substantial total of more than 900 academic staff with doctorates and fast growing masterslevel enrolments. UoNs output performance, despite these advantages in its inputs, has been poor. Graduation rates in SET are low. The throughflow from masters to doctorate is very low and the production of doctoralgraduatesandresearcharticleshasalsobeenlow.Thekeyfactorsthat seemtobeweakeningtheacademiccoreare(a)theinefficientoutputsofSET graduates,(b) the low proportions ofpostgraduate students,andinparticular doctoral students, (c) the low output of doctoral graduates, and (d) the poor output of research publications. A positive development is that UoN is experiencing a growth in masters enrolments, and graduates from these programmes could prove to be important inputs for future research programmes.However,thiswouldrequirethattheconditionsforthroughflow areimproved. Thefactorsthatappeartobeweakeningtheacademiccoreincludeanincentive systemthatdoesnotrewardknowledgeproduction,andlowresearchincome combined with attractive consultancies and additional incomegenerating teachingopportunities.
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FINDINGS: Theknowledgeproductionoutputvariablesoftheacademiccoredonotseem strong enough to enable UoN to make a sustainable contribution to development. The university is not significantly changing from a predominantly undergraduateteachinginstitution,withastrengthinSETandbusinessstudies. On the input side, UoN scores strong on masters and doctoral enrolments (despite the decline in the latter), staff teaching load and particularly staff qualifications(thehighestinthesample). The university scores weak on all three output variables, despite a strong showingontheinputside. Themostseriouschallengestostrengtheningtheacademiccoreseemtobeto increaseresearchfunding,doctoralgraduationratesandresearchoutputs.
6.5
Coordinationandconnectedness
Knowledge policies have become increasingly important in the context of the knowledge economy. Broadly speaking, knowledge policies refer to political mechanisms (such as policies and incentives) that are aimed at improving the (knowledge) capacity of a country to participate in the global knowledge economy. Such policies thus relate to the higher education and science and technology sectors, and to highlevel skills training, research and innovation. Thecoordinationofknowledgepoliciescantakeplaceatthelevelofbothpolicy formulationandpolicyimplementation. In this project coordination is used to refer to more structured forms of interaction, mainly between government and institutions; in other words, the knowledge policies and implementation activities of different government departments, particularly departments of education, science and technology, and research councils. Of specific interest to this study is the coordination of knowledge policies across ministries involved with higher education, science, technology and innovation, as well as those responsible for economic developmentorplanning. Implementation can be regarded as a component of the coordination of government policies and is a complex combination of agreement (relevant partiessupportthepolicy)andcapacitytodesignandapplytheimplementation mechanismsorinstruments.Atthenationallevelwelookedattheroleofthe ministry responsible for higher education, steering and funding. At the institutional level, indicators dealt with aspects such as units or structures to implement strategic plans, incentives and rewards, special teaching and researchprogrammesthatlinktoeconomicdevelopmentandfundingsupport forresearch. Anotherkeyissuefortherelationshipbetweenhighereducationandeconomic developmentistoestablisha productiverelationshipbetweenknowledgeand
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connectedness. On the one hand, if there is an overemphasis on the basic knowledge activities of teaching and research in other words, an excessive inward orientation towards strengthening the academic core this results in theuniversity becominganivorytower.Or,if theacademiccoreisweak,an overemphasisonknowledgeresultsintheancillaryroleoftheuniversity(i.e. nodirectroleindevelopment).Ontheotherhand,ifthereisanoveremphasis intheuniversityonconnectingtodevelopmentactivities,thenitweakensthe academiccoreandtheuniversityhaslittleneworrelevantknowledgetooffer intheexchangerelationship.Thechallengeforuniversities,then,istodealwith thisinherenttensionbetweenbuffering(protecting)thecoretechnologiesof the institution, and bridging (linking) those with external actors (Scott 2001: 199211). Forthepurposesofthisstudy,weareusingthetermconnectednesstorefer to the relationship (and tension) between the inward focus on strengthening and maintaining the academic core, and the outward focus on linking with externalstakeholdersanddevelopment. In this section, we address the following three questions relating to coordinationandconnectedness: Doesgovernmentcoordinatepoliciesandsteeringmechanismsthatenablethe universitytocontributetodevelopment? Does the university connect to external groupings in ways that promote development? Dodevelopmentactivitiesintheuniversitystrengthenorweakentheacademic core?
6.5.1 Knowledgepolicycoordinationandimplementation

Table6.4:Nationalcoordinationofknowledgepolicies Economicdevelopmentand highereducationplanningare linked Linkbetweenuniversitiesand nationalauthorities NationalRating=6/9 3Systematic 2Sporadic Clusters/forums Formalstructures Headedbysenior minister 3 2 Specific Someformal coordination structuresbutno structuresor meaningful agencies coordination 3 2 Highereducation Intermittent interactionwith mainstreamed acrossgovernment ineffectiveforums departments 1Weak Occasionalmeetings 1 Nostructures,and politicalratherthan professional networks 1 Highereducation issueslimited mainlytoone ministryor directorate
Coordinationandconsensus buildingofgovernment agenciesinvolvedinhigher education
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FINDINGS: At the national level, there are considerable coordination activities, including clustersandthereorganisationofthenationalministry. Whiletherearepersonalnetworksbetweengovernmentofficialsandparticular university leaders, it is not clear whether this contributes towards strengtheningtheinstitutionorthesector. Byfarthelargestproportionofresearchfundingintheinstitutioncomesfrom foreign donors. A senior academic commented that in recent years there had beenmajorchanges,particularlyamongsttheAmericandonoragenciessuchas USAIDandRockefeller,whicharenolongerfundingresearchintheuniversities directly, but rather through civil society organisations. According to this respondent,thisisleadingtofragmentationandprojectisationsincefundingis provided for numerous small, shortterm projects rather than for longerterm researchprogrammes. There was no evidence of specific incentives or rewards to encourage developmentrelated activities. However, the previous UoN strategic plan (20052010)makesreferencetotheintentiontoestablishrewards(criteriafor promotion) for consultancy activities, although it is not clear whether these have been realised. And, while consultancy has been mainstreamed, there do not appear to be any concrete mechanisms in place for incentivising or rewardingdevelopmentrelatedactivities.
Table6.5:Implementationofknowledgepoliciesandactivities NationalRating=8/12 2 3 Organisedministrywith Spotsofcapacity withsomesteering capacitytomake instruments predictableallocations 3Strong 2Weak Instrumentssuchas Occasionalgrants funding/special forspecialprojects projectsthatincentivise institutions/individuals 3 2 Government,feesand Mainlygovernment thirdstream plusstudentfees 3 Astable,transparent publicfunding mechanismbasedon criteriaagreeduponby allactorsinvolved 2 Fundingallocations somewhat predictablebutdo notallowforlong termplanningnor rewardenterprising behaviour
Roleoftheministry responsibleforhigher education Implementationtosteer highereducationtowards development
1 Weakcapacitywith unpredictable allocations 1Absent Noparticular incentivefunding
Balance/ratioofsources ofincomeforinstitutions
1 Mainlygovernment withexternal funders 1 Noclearfundingor incentivesfrom government
Fundingconsistency
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Specificunits,fundingor appointmentslinked economicdevelopment
Incentivesandrewardsfor developmentrelated activities Teachingprogrammes linkedtothelabour market
Specialprogrammes linkingstudentsto economicdevelopment
Researchactivitiesare becomingmoreeconomy oriented
Levelsofgovernmentand institutionalfundingfor research
Institutional(UoN)Rating=8/18 3 2 Specificunits,funding Economic orappointments development initiativesaspectof aunitor appointment 3 2 Incentives/counts Somesignalsbut largelyrhetoric towardspromotion 3 2 Targetsforenrolments Someprogrammes infieldsconsideredto inresponseto beofhigheconomic specificindustry relevance requests 3 2 Entrepreneurship, Adhocprogrammes workbasedlearning and/orincubatorsfor studentsmainstreamed 3 2 Research Someresearch policy/strategyhasan agendashavean economicdevelopment economic focus developmentfocus 3 2 High Medium
1 Mainlyadhoc,staff initiatedoperations
1 Nomention 1 Nonew programmeslinked tolabourmarket 1 Nospecial programmes
1 Adhocproject funding
1 Low
FINDINGS: One of the weaknesses is implementation, both at national and university levels. While the university does have developmentrelated structures and special programmes linking it to development initiatives, the problem is that in too many cases these initiatives are driven by individuals rather than being institutionalised. In addition, these special implementation efforts need to be moreconnected. Despitepoliciesthatextoltheimportanceofresearchrelatedtodevelopment activities,researchrelatedtodevelopmentisnotrewardedthroughincentives beyondthetraditionalacademicpromotionsystem. While there appear to be some significant linkages between government agencies and the university at the level of individual units and projects, the relationshipbetweentheuniversityandgovernmentatthebroaderlevelseems to have gone through some difficult times, and there are mixed views about this. On the one hand, according to one institutional leader, the university is
6.5.2 Connectednesstoexternalstakeholdersandtheacademiccore
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usually the first choice for government when assistance is needed with policy development;manyUoNacademicswereinvolvedinthedevelopmentofKenya Vision 2030 from economics, sociology, political science and administration, amongst others. However, some respondents were quite sceptical about how the university is perceived by the government, claiming that academics are oftenaccusedofbeingtootheoreticalandnotpracticalenough. A number of respondents felt that there is still quite a residue of mistrust betweenthegovernmentanduniversity,whichisnotalwaysdiscussedopenly, but which is certainly present. While academics do get coopted into expert functionsincertainpolicyareas,thereisasensethattheknowledgeindustry (ofwhichtheuniversityisacentralpart)isnotgoingtobeallowedtodrivethe development process in the country. Mistrust also plays itself out in the traditional autonomy tension where the university is subject to the State CorporationsAct,whichtendstobemorerestrictivethanfacilitative.Thereisa process underway to seek greater autonomy and strengthen the universitys abilitytodetermineitsowndirectionandoperations. Therewerehardlyanyexamplesoflinkageswiththeprivatesectororindustry. ThepreviousstrategicplanreferstoastudyundertakenfortheCommissionfor Higher Education which confirmed that relatively low collaboration exists between universities and industries in Kenya in relation to teaching and learning,aswellasR&Dinitiatives. A considerable number of consultancy activities are undertaken in the university and consultancy has been mainstreamed as a core function of the university. The University of Nairobi Enterprises and Services (UNES) Ltd was established in 1996, and has now been expanded, with the aim of promoting and coordinating the various incomegenerating activities of the university, includingteaching,researchandconsultancyactivities.UNESisregisteredasa private company, limited by shares, and operates as a separate legal entity, independentoftheuniversity. Until recently, research activities in the university have gone largely uncoordinated.Inparticular,therewasnoinstitutionlevelunitresponsiblefor coordinating research and much of the research that was done for outside organisations(e.g.governmentordonors)wasnegotiatedbyindividualswithin academicunits.ApositivedevelopmentisthatrecentlytheDeansCommittee essentiallytheuniversitysresearchcommitteeestablishedtworesearchunits (for the sciences and social sciences) which are now responsible for coordinatingresearchactivitiesintheirrespectivedisciplinaryareas.Thereare nowalsoplanstoestablishanofficeforaDeputyViceChancellorforResearch andDevelopment. With regard to the connectedness of developmentrelated activities to the academic core, the articulation and academic ratings applied to the six projects/centres(section5.3)arepresentedagaininFigure6.2below.
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Figure6.2:Plottingthedevelopmentrelatedprojects/centresattheUniversityofNairobi
Direct articulation
12 11 10 9 8 DRMP3,6 7 6 0 1 2 5 4 3 2 1 0 3 4 ATP3,7 CPRC4,7 ACFRN5,6 CLP4,6 5 SVTP4,9 ACCESS5,8
Weakening academic core
Strengthening 6 academic core
Indirect articulation
Key: ACCESS CPRC ACFRN CLP ATP SVTP DRMP
AfricanCollaborativeCentreforEarthSystemScience ChronicPovertyResearchCentre AfricanClothingandFootwearResearchNetwork ChildLabourProject AppliedTrainingProject StreetVendorsandTradersProject DisasterandRiskManagementProject
Following the analytical proposition, our assumption would be that for developmentrelated projects to make the most sustained contribution to development they would best fall within the top righthand quadrant in the graph; in other words, their activities articulate with national priorities and institutional strategic objectives; they have close linkages with key external stakeholders, especially any implementation agencies; and, they contribute towards strengthening the academic core of the institution, rather than weakeningit. As can be seen from Figure 6.2, three of the projects fall squarely in the top right quadrant which implies that they are able to make a sustainable
107
contribution to development. All three are longterm research programmes, twoofwhichreportednumerousexternallinkages,andtwoofwhichhadmore than one funding source and longterm or ongoing funding sources. All three alsoscoredwellintermsofstrengtheningtheacademiccore. Onthewhole,however,theprojectsdidnotscoreverywellonthearticulation rating.Fiveofthesevenreportednoarticulationofprojectaimstoinstitutional strategicobjectivesandonlythreehaddirectarticulationwithspecificnational policiesorstrategies.Fiveofthesevenprojectsonlyhadonesourceoffunding (usuallyforeigndonors). FINDINGS: Whilethereisevidenceofconnectednessbetweentheuniversityandindustry ortheprivatesector,theselinkagesaremostlyconfinedtothelevelofunitsor centresratherthaninstitutionallevelpartnerships. Most of these projects/centres manage to keep a strong connection to the academiccoreoftheuniversity. There are exemplary development projects/centers at UoN, the problem is scale: there are simply not enough, and some seem overly dependent on exceptionalindividuals.
6.6
Concludingcomments
The Kenya Vision 2030 is the new development blueprint covering the period 20082030. The main aim of the vision is to transform Kenya into a middle incomecountry.Theanchorsforthisaremacroeconomicstability;governance reforms; enhanced equity and wealth creation; opportunities for the poor; infrastructure development; energy; and science, technology and innovation. ThisissupportedbytheScience,TechnologyandInnovationBill(2009)whose point of departure is the promotion of research, science, technology and innovationfornationalsocioeconomicdevelopment. Along with these promising developments are about a 6% GDP growth since 2007, a higher HDI than its neighbours, the third highest innovation capacity (afterSouthAfricaandMauritius),andarelativelydifferentiatedtertiarysector. Whiletertiaryparticipationisstilllow,Kenyareceivesrelativelygoodratingsfor quality of education and onthejob training. However, the overall competitiveness potential is being eroded by a weakening of the institutional environment (moved down to 117 from 100 the previous year), government inefficiency(ranked101)andrisingcorruption(116). Thispictureofpositivegrowthandaglobalisingvisionforfuturedevelopmentis undermined by a weakening institutional environment, a lack of policy coordination and implementation, and apparently weak steering towards very positiveideals.Thelackofbuyinisreflectedinthelackofconcordanceonthe
108
partoftheuniversitywhich,ifnotmovingawayfromtheknowledgeeconomy vision,iscertainlyambiguousaboutitandrespondingtoitrathersymbolically. Thereis also stillconsiderable mistrustfromtheside oftheuniversityand,as wasassertedabove,thereisalsonotastrong,institutionalisedinteractionwith business. It is difficult not to conclude that despite a number of positives, and a very moderngrandvisionforthefuture,thereisnopactabouttheimportanceand theroleoftheuniversityindevelopment.Withoutapact,andinaweakening institutional environment, it is not possible to do the necessary coordination andmakethenecessarytradeoffstoredirectresourcesinordertoimplement thevision.
109
Listofresources
CHET (2010) CrossNational Higher Education Performance Indicators. DRAFT. Cape Town:CentreforHigherEducationTransformation Clark B (1998) Creating Entrepreneurial Universities: Organisational pathways of transformation.Pergamon:IAUPress CloeteN,MaassenP,PillayP,BaileyT,PinheiroRandMullerJ(2010)HigherEducation and Economic Development: Analytical Framework. Cape Town: Centre for HigherEducationTransformation CommissionforHigherEducation(2004)StrategicPlan20052010:Advancementand QualityAssuranceofHigherEducationinKenya.Nairobi:CHEPublishing Gibbons M, Limoges C, Nowotny H, Schwartsman S, Scott P and Trow M (1994) The New Production of Knowledge: The dynamics of science and research in contemporarysocieties.California:SagePublications Gornitzka , Maassen P, Olsen JP and Stensaker B (2007) Europe of knowledge: Searchforanewpact.In:PMaassenandJPOlsen(eds),UniversityDynamicsand EuropeanIntegration.Dordrecht:Springer,pp.181214 GRK (2007) Kenya Vision 2030: The popular version. Nairobi: Government of the RepublicofKenya IMF (2005) Kenya: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. Washington D.C.: International MonetaryFund INSEAD(2010)GlobalInnovationIndexReport20092010.INSEADBusinessSchool
JumaCC(2005)GoingforGrowth:Science,technologyandinnovationinAfrica.Report.
Harvard:TheSmithInstitute Kiiru S (2009) Background information on the University of Nairobi. Document preparedforresearchteampriortothesitevisit. MEST (2004) Development of Education in Kenya. Gaborone: Ministry of Education ScienceandTechnology MHEST (2005) Kenya Education Sector Support Programme 20052010: Delivering Quality Equitable Education and Training to all Kenyans. DRAFT, April 2005. Nairobi:MinistryofHigherEducation,ScienceandTechnology MHEST(2008)StrategicPlan20082012:QualityHigherEducation,Science,Technology and Innovation for National Prosperity and Global Competitiveness. Revised Edition,2008.Nairobi:MinistryofHigherEducation,ScienceandTechnology
110
MHEST (2009) Science, Technology and Innovation Bill. Nairobi: Ministry of Higher Education,ScienceandTechnology OECD (2008) Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society. Paris: Organisation for EconomicCooperationandDevelopment OtienoW(2010)HigherEducationFinancinginKenya.InHigherEducationFinancingin EastandSouthernAfrica.PundyPillay(ed).CapeTown:AfricanMinds PillayP(2010a)HigherEducationandEconomicDevelopment:Aliteraturereview.Cape Town:CentreforHigherEducationTransformation PillayP(2010b)LinkingHigherEducationandEconomicDevelopment:Implicationsfor Africa from three successful systems. Cape Town: Centre for Higher Education Transformation Scott WR (2001) Organizations: Rational, natural, and open systems. Upper Saddle River,NJ:PearsonEducationInternational UNDP (1990) 1990 Human Development Report. New York: United Nations DevelopmentProgramme UNDP (2007) Human Development Report 2007/2008. Fighting Climate Change: Human solidarity in a divided world. New York: United Nations Development Programme UNDP(2009)HumanDevelopmentReport2009.Overcomingbarriers:Humanmobility anddevelopment.NewYork:UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme UoN (2005) University of Nairobi Strategic Plan 20052010: Towards worldclass excellence.Nairobi:UniversityofNairobi UoN (2008a) University of Nairobi Strategic Plan 20082013. Nairobi: University of Nairobi UoN(2008b)UniversityofNairobiResearchPolicy.Nairobi:UniversityofNairobi WEF (2009) The Global Competitiveness Report 20092010. Geneva: World Economic Forum WEF (2010) The Global Competitiveness Report 20102011. Geneva: World Economic Forum Weick K (1976) Educational organisations as loosely coupled systems. Administrative ScienceQuarterly,21:119 World Bank (2006) World Bank Development Report 2006: Equity and Development. WashingtonDC:TheWorldBank
111
WorldBank(2007)TheKnowledgeEconomy.WashingtonDC:TheWorldBank WorldBank(2008)2008WorldDevelopmentIndicators.WashingtonDC:TheWorld Bank
112
Appendix1:Listofinterviewees
UniversityofNairobi MrBenWaweru(AcademicRegistrar) Prof.IMMbeche(Principal:CollegeofHumanitiesandSocialSciences) Prof.EHNNjeru(Dean:FacultyofArts) Prof.EdwardKMburugu(AssociateDean:FacultyofArts) Prof.PattsOdira(Dean:SchoolofEngineering) Prof. Madara Ogot (Managing Director: University of Nairobi Enterprises and Services) Prof.EricOOdada(ProgrammeDirector:PanAfricanSTARTSecretariat) Prof.DorothyMcCormick(InstituteforDevelopmentStudies) MrJohnNjoka(InstituteforDevelopmentStudies) Prof.WinnieMitullah(InstituteforDevelopmentStudies) Prof.NJMuthama(DepartmentofMeteorology) Prof.FrancisMutua(HydrometrologyandSurfaceWaterResourcesUnit) Prof.NjugunaNgethe(ChronicPovertyResearchCentre) Prof.JohnH.Ndiritu(Dean:FacultyofAgriculture) DrWanjiruGichuhi(PopulationStudiesandResearchInstitute) MrSamuelW.Kiiru(InstituteforDevelopmentStudies) Nationalstakeholder Elizabeth Wafula (Senior Assistant Commission Secretary (Planning), CommissionforHigherEducation)
113
Appendix2:Clusteranalysismethodology anddata
A Kmeans clustering analysis was applied for the identification of four statistically significant and distinct clusters. Averages for 2005 to 2007 were usedforinputvariablesaswellasnonfinancialoutputvariables.Financialdata for2007wereused.Originalvaluesforallvariableswerestatisticallyscaledto makethedatacomparableandtoensureequalweightingforallvariables. Thefollowinginputvariableswereusedfortheclusteringanalysis: %headcountenrolmentsinscience,engineeringandtechnology(%SET) %mastersanddoctoralheadcountenrolments(%M&Dstudents) Inverseofthestudent:academic/researchstaffFTEratio(inverseofstud:staff FTEratio) %ofpermanentacademic/researchstaffwithadoctoraldegree(%staffwith PhD) %privateincome Total income per FTE student (purchasing power parity dollar thousands) (incomeperFTE) Academic staff costs per FTE academic (purchasing power parity dollar thousands)(staffcostperFTE). Thefollowingoutputvariableswereusedfortheclusteringanalysis: Graduation rate (number of graduates in a given year/ enrolments in a given yearx100) Researchoutputs(doctoralgraduates+researchpublications). The data values are shown in Table A2.1 over page. Figure A2.1 lists the universitiesinthefourclustersandplotsthemeansforeachcluster.
114
TableA2.1:Clusteranalysisdatatable
INPUTINDICATORS 2007 Averagesfor20052007 2007income only Incomeper Student: %Staff FTE(purchasing %M&D %Private %SET staffFTE with powerparity students Income ratio PhD dollar thousands) 38% 38% 20% 31% 30% 32% 31% 48% 29% 48% 26% 30% 41% 48% 42% 39% 18% 44% 48% 50% 25% 31% 3% 15% 8% 5% 16% 14% 7% 2% 12% 23% 1% 7% 22% 2% 18% 10% 6% 11% 1% 3% 23% 10% 31 18 30 16 16 18 18 26 17 11 30 29 16 28 13 15 29 16 31 12 17 19 12% 38% 43% 18% 71% 30% 31% 11% 49% 45% 9% 34% 61% 7% 58% 50% 47% 16% 12% 19% 20% 43% 16% 40% 37% 27% 34% 37% 15% 27% 30% 51% 5% 25% 51% 11% 42% 16% 15% 19% 13% 14% 10% 41% 10.5 24.8 12.6 15.9 9.9 21.2 5.9 15.3 18.2 39.7 8.7 18.4 36.4 12.4 40.0 8.6 6.3 21.3 11.4 5.6 14.8 22.3 OUTPUTINDICATORS 2007expenditure Academicstaffcosts perFTEacademic (purchasingpower paritydollar thousands) 81.0 92.8 106.2 46.0 58.7 96.1 48.7 98.1 73.6 96.7 108.6 120.1 90.9 108.9 99.3 44.1 68.5 77.5 81.5 24.9 85.6 84.0 Averagesfor20052007 Graduation rate Weighted research outputper permanent academic 0.27 1.36 1.17 0.94 0.45 1.07 0.51 0.20 1.27 1.52 0.05 0.82 2.03 0.14 2.13 0.40 0.53 0.31 0.12 0.03 0.27 0.91
Total2007 headcounts (thousands)
LARGECONTACT TshwaneUniversityof Technology UniversityofPretoria NorthWestUniversity UniversityofJohannesburg UniversityofNairobi UniversityofKwaZuluNatal MakerereUniversity MEDIUMCONTACT CapePeninsulaUniversityof Technology UniversityoftheFreeState Universityofthe Witwatersrand WalterSisuluUniversity NelsonMandela MetropolitanUniversity StellenboschUniversity DurbanUniversityof Technology UniversityofCapeTown UniversityofDaresSalaam UniversityofGhana SMALLCONTACT UniversityofLimpopo VaalUniversityof Technology EduardoMondlane University UniversityofBotswana UniversityoftheWestern
51 49 45 42 39 38 34 29 25 25 24 24 23 23 21 18 26 16 16 16 16 15
19% 24% 24% 23% 16% 21% 26% 22% 21% 21% 12% 23% 25% 20% 26% 24% 20% 21% 15% 8% 22% 20%
115
Total2007 headcounts (thousands) Cape UniversityofVenda CapeUniversityof Technology MangosothuUniversityof Technology UniversityofZululand UniversityofFortHare UniversityofMauritius RhodesUniversity
INPUTINDICATORS 2007 Averagesfor20052007 2007income only Incomeper Student: %Staff FTE(purchasing %M&D %Private %SET staffFTE with powerparity students Income ratio PhD dollar thousands) 31% 45% 59% 16% 18% 42% 22% 3% 3% 0% 5% 6% 15% 14% 34 28 44 32 21 16 17 35% 29% 5% 38% 19% 45% 50% 14% 14% 13% 30% 37% 6% 29% 10.0 13.0 10.6 15.9 15.6 3.7 26.9
OUTPUTINDICATORS 2007expenditure Academicstaffcosts perFTEacademic (purchasingpower paritydollar thousands) 100.3 79.2 140.9 95.9 94.2 20.9 107.7 Averagesfor20052007 Graduation rate Weighted research outputper permanent academic 0.24 0.32 0.03 0.70 0.45 0.94 1.65
12 10 10 9 9 8 6
16% 22% 17% 21% 20% 27% 32%
Notes: 1. Thecalculationofpurchasingpowerparitydollars(PPP$)isbasedonestimatescontainedintheWorldBanks(2008)WorldDevelopmentIndicatorsreport. Becausetheseestimatesarebasedon2005exchangerates,thefollowingmethodwasusedforthe2007calculations: TheindicatorsetgivesforeachcountryaratiobetweenthePPPconversionfactorandthemarketexchangerate.Forexample,theSouthAfricanratiois givenas0.61,basedonamarketexchangerateofR6.4perUSDin2005. The2007calculationsassumethatthe2005ratiowillapplyagain.Sothe2007PPPconversionfactoristakentobe2005ratiotimes2007marketexchange rate.Forexample,theconversionfactorforSouthAfricaiscalculatedas2005ratiotimes2007exchangerate=0.61x7.0=4.27. 2. Thefinancialdataforthefollowingthreeuniversitieswerebasedonthefollowingassumptions: UniversityofNairobi:academicstaffcostsassumedto=35%oftotalexpenditure EduardoMondlaneUniversity:academicstaffcostsassumedto=35%oftotalexpenditure UniversityofDaresSalaam:(a)academicstaffcostsassumedto=35%oftotalexpenditure;(b)privateincome=donorincome.
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FigureA2.1:Plotofmeansforeachcluster Cluster1
UniversityofPretoria, WitwatersrandUniversity, StellenboschUniversity,University ofCapeTown,RhodesUniversity
2.00 Cluster1 1.50
Cluster2
UniversityofJohannesburg, MakerereUniversity,Universityof DaresSalaam,Universityof Limpopo,EduardoMondlane University,UniversityofBotswana, UniversityofMauritius
1.00
0.50 Cluster2 0.00
Cluster3
NorthWestUniversity,University ofNairobi,UniversityofKwaZulu Natal,UniversityoftheFreeState, NelsonMandelaMetropolitan University,UniversityofGhana, UniversityoftheWesternCape, UniversityofVenda,Universityof Zululand,UniversityofFortHare
0.50
Cluster3 Cluster4
1.00
1.50 Cluster4
TshwaneUniversityofTechnology, CapePeninsulaUniversityof Technology,WalterSisulu University,DurbanUniversityof Technology,VaalUniversityof Technology,CentralUniversityof Technology,Mangosothu UniversityofTechnology Cluster1 Cluster2 Cluster3 Cluster4 %SET 0.27 0.19 0.86 0.84 %M&D students 1.54 0.10 0.04 1.07
Inverseof %Staffwith %Private stud:staff PhD Income FTEratio 1.04 0.78 0.37 1.00 1.00 0.23 0.46 1.14 1.33 0.72 0.47 0.89
Incomeper FTE 1.78 0.58 0.14 0.49
Staffcost perFTE 0.50 1.25 0.22 0.58
Graduation Rate 1.03 0.10 0.14 0.63
Weighted Research Outputs 1.72 0.53 0.11 0.86
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Appendix3:Academiccoreratingdescriptions
Indicators 1 Strongscienceand technology Strong(3) SETenrolmentsgrowing,andSETshareof enrolmentshapeincreasing.Graduation ratesofcohortsofSETstudentsminimum of70%. Postgraduatesatleast25%oftotal enrolment.Mastersanddoctoral enrolmentsandgraduatesincreasing. Ratioofmasterstodoctoralenrolments nomorethan5:1.Ratioofgraduatesin yeartoenrolmentsinsameyear:masters 25%,doctorates20%. FTEacademicstaffratioclosetogrowthin FTEstudents.FTEstudenttoacademic staffratiosmaximumof15:1forSET,and maximumaverageof20:1for:all programmes. Atleast50%ofpermanentacademicstaff havedoctorates. AnnualresearchfundingofatleastUSD10 000perpermanentacademic. Doctoralgraduatesingivenyear=10%or higherofpermanentacademicstaff. Ratioof0.50orhigherofpublicationunits perpermanentacademic. Medium(2) Weak(1) SETshareofenrolmentshapesteady. SETenrolmentsstatic,andSETshareof GraduationrateofcohortsofSETstudents enrolmentshapedeclining.Graduation rateofcohortsofSETstudentsbelow 60%to70%. 60%. Postgraduateenrolmentsandgraduates Postgraduatesasproportionoftotal growataverageannualratebelowthatof enrolmentsabove10%andincreasing. Ratioofmasterstodoctoralenrolments undergraduates.Postgraduates10%or nomorethan10:1.Ratiosofgraduatesto lessoftotalenrolment.Ratioofmasters enrolments:masters20%,doctorates todoctoralenrolmentsabove10:1. 15%. FTEstudentsgrowatfasterratethanFTE academicstaff.FTEstudenttoacademic staffratiosclose20:1forSET,closeto 30:1forallprogrammes. Between30%and50%ofpermanent academicstaffhavedoctorates. Annualresearchfundingofbetweenthan USD2000andUSD10000perpermanent academic. Doctoralgraduatesingivenyearbetween 5%&9.9%ofpermanentacademicstaff. Ratioofpublicationunitsperpermanent academicbetween0.25and0.49. FTEstudentsgrowatfasterratethanFTE academicstaffratio.FTEstudentto academicstaffratiosmorethan20:1for SET,and30:1forallprogrammes. Lessthan30%ofpermanentacademic staffhavedoctorates. AnnualresearchfundingoflessthanUSD 2000perpermanentacademic. Doctoralgraduatesingivenyear<5%of permanentacademicstaff. Ratioofpublicationunitsperpermanent academic<0.25.
Increased postgraduate enrolmentsand outputs
Teachingloadsof academicstaff
Qualificationsof academicstaff Availabilityof researchfunding Doctoralgraduates Research publications
6 7
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UniversitiesandEconomicDevelopmentinAfrica

PART5:THEENGAGEMENTANDDEVELOPMENTRELATEDACTIVITIESOFTHE UNIVERSITYOFNAIROBI......................................................................................60 5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................60

Linkinghighereducationandeconomicdevelopment:ImplicationsforAfrica fromthreesuccessfulsystems PundyPillay(2010)

OverviewofHERANA Projectfocusandprocess Analyticalframework Datacollection Focusandstructureofthereport

TheKenyaneconomyandapproachtodevelopment HighereducationinKenya Aprofileof theUniversityofNairobi

60 153 149 68 169 78 163 157 23 35

125 152 147 81 172 129 157 151 12 26

Ghana Kenya Mozambique Tanzania Uganda Botswana Mauritius SouthAfrica Finland

Overallglobal competitiveness ranking (20102011)2 114 106 131 113 118 76 55 54 7

Creative Output HumanCapacity(enabler)

2005/06 209276 Source:Otieno(2010)

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30%

76% 72% 67% 62% 59% 55%

Tuition and other fees Service units

15% 8% 1% 0% 11% 6% 1% 0% 12% 8% 7% 2%

1999/00 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06

Keynationalhighereducationstakeholders Roleofhighereducationinnationalpolicies Policycoordinationinthehighereducationsector Institutionalnarrativesontheroleoftheuniversity Policies,structuresandappointments Researchfunding Researchagenda Linkageswiththelabourmarket

AprofileoftheUoNacademiccore: Enrolmentsinscience,engineeringandtechnology Postgraduateenrolmentsandgraduationrates Academicstafftostudentratio Academicstaffqualifications Researchfunding Researchoutput

2003 Science & technology

2005 Business & management Humanities

Scienceandtechnology Businessandmanagement Socialsciences,humanities andeducation Totals

7.6 4.9 10.3 22.8

7.9 4.7 11.5 24.1

9.4 6.9 16.1 32.4

12.3 7.8 19.3 39.4

33% 30% 31% 29%

Science & technology

Average for all programmes

30% 28% 28%

4% 2001 Nairobi 2003 Ghana UKZN 2005 2007 Cluster 1: Pretoria

Masters Enrolments Graduates Doctoral Doctoralenrolments Doctoralgraduates Totalmasters+doctoral Enrolments Graduates

3937 370 190 26 4127 396

3376 694 81 32 3457 726

5332 576 170 7 5502 583

6145 988 62 32 6207 1020

Cluster1: Pretoria UKZN

Table4.7:Comparisonofmastersanddoctoralenrolments Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster1: Pretoria 2001

3937 1344 3457 4858

190 69 773 1284

3376 1272 4535 5907

5332 1337 4343 5714

170 94 1081 1546

6145 1580 3884 5399

62 102 1117 1495

2003 Ghana UKZN

2005 Cluster 1: Pretoria

1.02 Nairobi Ghana UKZN Cluster 1: Pretoria

FTE to permanent academic staff

6.9 2.7 2.7

4.0% 2.5% 2.1% 2.0% 1.4%1.4%

0.0% Nairobi Ghana 2001 2007 KwaZulu-Natal Cluster 1: Pretoria

Theengagementanddevelopment relatedactivitiesoftheUniversityof Nairobi

Universityengagementandlinkageswithgovernmentandindustry Incentivesforacademicstoengageindevelopmentrelatedactivities Coordinationofdevelopmentactivities Connectednessofeconomicdevelopmentrelatedprojectsandcentrestothe academiccore

Longtermresearch African CollaborativeCentre andcapacity forEarthSystem buildingprogramme Science

Governmentagency, Africanscienceand theuniversity, policycommunities, foreigndonors NGOsandlocal communities

AfricanClothingand Longtermresearch FootwearResearch programmeand Network businesssupport

Localand international researchcentres, government agencies

Smallandlarge producers, government, businessandNGOs inparticipating countries,academics inotheruniversities

University academics,country steering committees,foreign donors

Organisations Otheruniversityand workingtowardsthe NGOsinKenya eliminationofchild labour,university studentsandfaculty, government agencies,donor

DisasterandRisk Management Project

MinistryofStateand Nonereported SpecialProgrammes

AfricanClothing andFootwear Research Network ChildLabour Project

StreetVendors andTraders Project