Dons agree with poor ranking

A group of lecturers on Wednesday supported the findings of a survey that ranked Kenyan universities poorly in the international academic arena.

Those interviewed by the Nation said lack of support for research, poor remuneration, insufficient resources and poor management had eroded qualities key to achieving world-class status.

The survey conducted by the Ranking Web of World Universities ranks only two Kenyan universities among the top 5,000 in the world.

At position 4,338, the University of Nairobi was ranked top in the country and 25th in Africa.

Surprisingly, the University of Mogadishu in war-torn Somalia is placed higher than most local universities, at position 40 in Africa and 6,145 in the world.

The Spanish-based research institution that rated the institutions has since 2004 published its findings twice a year, with a coverage of more than 16,000 institutions of higher education worldwide.

The body, comprising panelists from the academic world, claims the global performance is in regard to web publication, which they say reflects the institution’s commitment to the dissemination of scientific knowledge.

A University of Nairobi lecturer said research and publication were not prioritised locally.

“Very few Kenyan scholars are publishing in respected international journals. Funding is limited and universities are giving priority to teaching at the expense of research,” said Dr Mwenda Mbatia.

“Most lecturers are moonlighting to supplement their low pay.”

Dr Clara Momanyi of Kenyatta University said local universities were lagging behind in embracing communication technology that she termed as mandatory for a world-class university.

The Web ranking also claims to take into account the ability to attract and retain top-quality professors by looking at favourable working conditions such as job security and appropriate salaries.

Universities with a higher ratio of staff with PhDs in relation to the number of students are highly ranked.

According to the current issue of the Kenya Education Stakeholders Journal, quality issues in universities in sub-Saharan Africa are directly linked to insufficient lecturers with PhD qualifications.

The secretary-general of the Academic Staff Union, Dr Muga K’Olale, said lecturers in Kenyan public universities were overwhelmed due to understaffing.

He said in the Masters programme, lecturers were allocated 45 students to supervise instead of two.

Academic freedom and an atmosphere of intellectual excitement is also said to be considered. This is where lecturers and students are free to pursue knowledge and publish work freely without fear of sanction by academic or external authorities.

Other parameters are involvement of students and lecturers in decision-making, physical facilities and funding.