Academic shortage deepens as student numbers soar

By Gilbert Nganga. The number of professors working in Kenya’s seven older public universities has risen by a measly 11% over the past three years while student numbers have soared by 56%, highlighting the challenge the country faces in matching enrolments with lecturers. Statistics released by the Commission for University Education, or CUE, show that the number of professors rose from 238 in 2010 to 265 by February this year. This pushed academic staff numbers in the seven universities to 5,189 from around 4,800 three years ago – 8% growth. During the same period, student numbers shot from 140,000 in 2010 to 218,832 this year, which means that lecturers are being forced to take on a bigger workload, possibly compromising already shaky quality of learning. Read more...