NAIROBI, KENYA: The
thirst for university education in Kenya has pushed students to enroll
for masters’ degree courses at unprecedented levels.
The Masters in Business Administration programme has attracted the greatest number of mature returning students who mostly attend class in the evenings and work by day, creating what some are now calling MBA “widows” and “widowers.”
This group of widowers and widows consists of husbands and wives who are in essence single, not because their spouses have really died, but because they are so engrossed in studies that marital obligations have taken a back seat.
Dr Zachary Samita, who is the head of the department of religious studies at Kenyatta University, says that while investing in education must be encouraged, it must not be done to the detriment of society.
“People tend to think that the way to advance in life is through economic power, therefore, the need for advanced education has become ever more important. This is a good thing but it must be balanced with ties to the community otherwise societal ties crumble eventually,” he says.
A major casualty has been the breakdown of social and personal relationships—particularly marriage. Investment in social relationships is important but with studies taking up more time, less attention is being paid to these relationships, says Dr Samita.
Statistics show that at least 2,500 students are graduating with MBA degrees every year. This is more than double what universities produced five years ago. In fact more than half of Kenya’s 22 public universities are offering MBA programmes, an increase from just eight universities five years ago.
The Masters in Business Administration degree is earned after a bachelor’s degree and usually takes about 18 months of study in Kenya. Those involved in this programme an other academic programmes often develop closes ties with their classmates owing to the level of collaboration involved in the study, and it is the romantic ties that develop from these associations that have earned the degree programme the derogatory misnomer Married But Available.
Anecdotal evidence suggest that romantic liaisons and love affairs sometimes develop between students—some of them married to other partners. Many jilted marriage partners have lamented that they have lost their wives or husbands to study colleagues. However, no scientific evidence has been adduced to suggest that this is a significant reason for most family breakdowns.
These anecdotes aside, the absence of one parents, particularly the mother, has a major bearing on how children are raised. The need for education has a profound effect on children since absent parents might not have time to bond with the offsprings. Rev Harold Mwangombe of the ACK Diocese of Nairobi, Church of the Good Samaritan says when he was studying for his Master’s degree in Edinburg, Scotland, he lost all touch with his last-born son was born while he was abroad.
“I never got to bond with him as a baby until I came back from Edinburg. So you see, education was a barrier between us in his early years and this is what many families go through,” says Rev MwangombeIt gets worse when a young child is alienated from the mother and such mothers can go through parental alienation if the child rejects them in the future, Dr Amy Baker writes in the Psychology Today medical journal.
Mwangombe says those who wish to pursue higher education must weigh options and see which is likely to work. If it is likely to break up the family, then they rethink it.
Family lawyer Kevin Omondi has seen his fair of marriage breakdowns and says sometimes the social and financial cost of acquiring an education proves to be too expensive. He says many of families whose parents are continuing students have just started life together. So when one or both of them seek to further their education, there are financial implications at the expense of the family.
“A number of families find it hard to stay afloat financially as most of what is earned goes into education, leaving other important needs unmet. This is bound to create rifts between the families and can lead to break-ups,” says Omondi.
It is not unlikely for illicit relationships to blossom among students as the spouses tend to give less attention to their partners ultimately straining the relationships.
“Pursuit of education tends to draw the partners apart and might lead to other relationships that are unforeseen but which might even lead to break-ups,” Omondi says.
There are two fundamental questions which experts are grappling with—do students pursue an advanced education for the more utilitarian search for new knowledge or is the motivation purely to seek professional advancement in the work place? If it is education they are looking for then, students are barking the wrong tree, new research shows.
A study conducted by research firm Gallup Africa found out that a high percentage of students in Kenyan universities feel that the quality of education offered in these colleges are sub-standard. One out of every three students feels that the universities are giving students a raw deal. About seven per cent of students are not sure whether universities are offering quality education while only about half the students in the survey agreed that the quality education offered in local universities was relevant to current local socio-economic dynamics.
Looking at the World University Ranking in which Kenyan universities have perennially performed below than their older counterparts in Egypt and South Africa, there does not see to be much hope for the future.
The Ranking Web of Universities puts the first university in Kenya—University of Nairobi—at 1,624 worldwide with the second-placed local university, Maseno University, coming in at position 2,053.
The level of education offered by the growing number of middle level colleges now offering undergraduate and post-graduate degree programmes could further compromise quality.
The Gallup Africa survey found that about 80 per cent of students are not happy with the conversion of mid-level colleges into university collegesSo are maturing students chasing a red herring, and is the qualification they seek worth the compromise?
Uwezo East Africa regional manager Dr Sara Ruto says academic programmes being offered in colleges are not doing much to inspire the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The biggest problem with these courses is that the institutions are not giving students a competitive edge because our institutions have not adapted with the times,” she says.
Literature lecturer Dr Tom Odhiambo agrees and says business related academic programmes may need to be revised and mordenised to be more in tune with our social reality.
“While the MBA programme is one of the oldest, the fact that it is modelled mainly on the curriculum of Western nations has made it redundant to some degree,” says Dr Odhiambo.
The Economic Survey, 2013 puts the total government expenditure at 424 billion of which the Ministry of Education gets 163 billion. Much of this goes into paying salaries rather than improving academic programmes. The survey also points out that only 68,000 new jobs were created in the modern sector in 2012, a drop from 74,200 in 2011, and this could be driving the students to be more competitive in the work place.
The Commission on University Education (CUE) says in its website that Kenya has 22 public universities; nine public university colleges; 17 chartered private universities; four private university constituent colleges; 12 private universities with letter of interim authority and two registered private universities.
The commission’s draft document on the quality of courses offered states that an academic programme should facilitate a balanced learning process, ensuring that the students are able to acquire such cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills as are consistent with educational goals and aspirations of Kenyans.
Therefore, it is not just a matter of getting degrees for the sake of it, but ensuring that they are helpful towards the advancement of the economy and well being of society in generally, starting with the family
The Masters in Business Administration programme has attracted the greatest number of mature returning students who mostly attend class in the evenings and work by day, creating what some are now calling MBA “widows” and “widowers.”
This group of widowers and widows consists of husbands and wives who are in essence single, not because their spouses have really died, but because they are so engrossed in studies that marital obligations have taken a back seat.
Dr Zachary Samita, who is the head of the department of religious studies at Kenyatta University, says that while investing in education must be encouraged, it must not be done to the detriment of society.
“People tend to think that the way to advance in life is through economic power, therefore, the need for advanced education has become ever more important. This is a good thing but it must be balanced with ties to the community otherwise societal ties crumble eventually,” he says.
A major casualty has been the breakdown of social and personal relationships—particularly marriage. Investment in social relationships is important but with studies taking up more time, less attention is being paid to these relationships, says Dr Samita.
Statistics show that at least 2,500 students are graduating with MBA degrees every year. This is more than double what universities produced five years ago. In fact more than half of Kenya’s 22 public universities are offering MBA programmes, an increase from just eight universities five years ago.
The Masters in Business Administration degree is earned after a bachelor’s degree and usually takes about 18 months of study in Kenya. Those involved in this programme an other academic programmes often develop closes ties with their classmates owing to the level of collaboration involved in the study, and it is the romantic ties that develop from these associations that have earned the degree programme the derogatory misnomer Married But Available.
Anecdotal evidence suggest that romantic liaisons and love affairs sometimes develop between students—some of them married to other partners. Many jilted marriage partners have lamented that they have lost their wives or husbands to study colleagues. However, no scientific evidence has been adduced to suggest that this is a significant reason for most family breakdowns.
These anecdotes aside, the absence of one parents, particularly the mother, has a major bearing on how children are raised. The need for education has a profound effect on children since absent parents might not have time to bond with the offsprings. Rev Harold Mwangombe of the ACK Diocese of Nairobi, Church of the Good Samaritan says when he was studying for his Master’s degree in Edinburg, Scotland, he lost all touch with his last-born son was born while he was abroad.
“I never got to bond with him as a baby until I came back from Edinburg. So you see, education was a barrier between us in his early years and this is what many families go through,” says Rev MwangombeIt gets worse when a young child is alienated from the mother and such mothers can go through parental alienation if the child rejects them in the future, Dr Amy Baker writes in the Psychology Today medical journal.
Mwangombe says those who wish to pursue higher education must weigh options and see which is likely to work. If it is likely to break up the family, then they rethink it.
Family lawyer Kevin Omondi has seen his fair of marriage breakdowns and says sometimes the social and financial cost of acquiring an education proves to be too expensive. He says many of families whose parents are continuing students have just started life together. So when one or both of them seek to further their education, there are financial implications at the expense of the family.
“A number of families find it hard to stay afloat financially as most of what is earned goes into education, leaving other important needs unmet. This is bound to create rifts between the families and can lead to break-ups,” says Omondi.
It is not unlikely for illicit relationships to blossom among students as the spouses tend to give less attention to their partners ultimately straining the relationships.
“Pursuit of education tends to draw the partners apart and might lead to other relationships that are unforeseen but which might even lead to break-ups,” Omondi says.
There are two fundamental questions which experts are grappling with—do students pursue an advanced education for the more utilitarian search for new knowledge or is the motivation purely to seek professional advancement in the work place? If it is education they are looking for then, students are barking the wrong tree, new research shows.
A study conducted by research firm Gallup Africa found out that a high percentage of students in Kenyan universities feel that the quality of education offered in these colleges are sub-standard. One out of every three students feels that the universities are giving students a raw deal. About seven per cent of students are not sure whether universities are offering quality education while only about half the students in the survey agreed that the quality education offered in local universities was relevant to current local socio-economic dynamics.
Looking at the World University Ranking in which Kenyan universities have perennially performed below than their older counterparts in Egypt and South Africa, there does not see to be much hope for the future.
The Ranking Web of Universities puts the first university in Kenya—University of Nairobi—at 1,624 worldwide with the second-placed local university, Maseno University, coming in at position 2,053.
The level of education offered by the growing number of middle level colleges now offering undergraduate and post-graduate degree programmes could further compromise quality.
The Gallup Africa survey found that about 80 per cent of students are not happy with the conversion of mid-level colleges into university collegesSo are maturing students chasing a red herring, and is the qualification they seek worth the compromise?
Uwezo East Africa regional manager Dr Sara Ruto says academic programmes being offered in colleges are not doing much to inspire the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The biggest problem with these courses is that the institutions are not giving students a competitive edge because our institutions have not adapted with the times,” she says.
Literature lecturer Dr Tom Odhiambo agrees and says business related academic programmes may need to be revised and mordenised to be more in tune with our social reality.
“While the MBA programme is one of the oldest, the fact that it is modelled mainly on the curriculum of Western nations has made it redundant to some degree,” says Dr Odhiambo.
The Economic Survey, 2013 puts the total government expenditure at 424 billion of which the Ministry of Education gets 163 billion. Much of this goes into paying salaries rather than improving academic programmes. The survey also points out that only 68,000 new jobs were created in the modern sector in 2012, a drop from 74,200 in 2011, and this could be driving the students to be more competitive in the work place.
The Commission on University Education (CUE) says in its website that Kenya has 22 public universities; nine public university colleges; 17 chartered private universities; four private university constituent colleges; 12 private universities with letter of interim authority and two registered private universities.
The commission’s draft document on the quality of courses offered states that an academic programme should facilitate a balanced learning process, ensuring that the students are able to acquire such cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills as are consistent with educational goals and aspirations of Kenyans.
Therefore, it is not just a matter of getting degrees for the sake of it, but ensuring that they are helpful towards the advancement of the economy and well being of society in generally, starting with the family
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