THE PROMOTION OF A LECTURER TO FULL PROFESSOR

By Prof. Ratemo W. Michieka

The demand for higher education is unparalled to any other desire by Kenyans. This is a positive gesture for National Development including meeting the goals for Kenya’s Vision 2030. An elite nation is indeed a first world.

Higher education is vested in university functionaries. Universities award various degrees and diplomas as prescribed by their Acts and Statutes. My topic of contention and for the public awareness is the promotion of a university Lecturer to the post of Full Professor.

It is instructional to state here that any accredited university anywhere in the world can award a Certificate, a Diploma, a Bachelor’s, a Masters and a Doctorate degree and other awards. In strict sense, universities should not teach certificate courses, those should be left to lower academic institutions. What is happening currently is off the norm of the university mandates. There are other reasons known best to them.

A graduate is somebody who has gone through a prescribed course of study set by Senate and meets all the requirements. Under normal circumstances, a first Degree takes anywhere from three to six years, depending on the programme of study. A Bachelor of Arts for example, stakes about 3-4 years, Architecture and Medicine 5-6 years again depending on the curriculum and contact hours. A contact hour is the actual, physical time a lecturer teaches and/or conducts practicals with his/her students. This is the norm world-over. Contact hours are very critical in the determination of quality academic assurance in each discipline. This is a common practice world-over and is the surest way of maintaining quality.

A Master’s degree takes on average a period of 2 years to 4 years again depending on the prescribed Senate requirements. A Ph.D takes longer period from 3 to 8 years. There are numerous hurdles to contend with before one gets a Masters or PhD. degree. The significance of these awards dictates promotions.

Who is a University Lecturer? In general, he/she is one who has attained (by defending) a Ph.D. and published papers. There may be variations in the requirements depending on the needs and demand of a particular University. This is where problems start. If we assume my statement as a basic requirement, then academic promotion becomes easy. The requirements for attaining a Master or Ph.D. degrees are rigorous, so is the upward mobility in ranks. The basic standard requirement, therefore, to teach in any university is a Ph.D with publications. To be promoted to Senior Lecturer, one must have published a prescribed number of papers in (important) refereed journals in his/her area of expertise. World renown scholars review the papers. This is where one starts to “publish or perish”. It is factual. One cannot just be promoted if one does not publish no matter how brilliant he/she is, period. This is also where the quality of a University starts to be measured. Mark you, one wants to teach a person to graduate and become resourceful to society. From Senior Lecturer, the next ladder is the need for the coveted Professorial position. Some people claim and use this title wrongly.

There are basically two categories, Associate and Full Professor. To be an Associate Professor, it is generally expected that one must have published several papers in “serious journals” refereed or written books, taught several units, supervised a prescribed number of Masters and Ph.D. students to COMPLETION. One should also have done extensive research in his/her area of specialization. Any added duties like administration, fundraising, community services etc are viewed as “added advantages”. All these requirements are taken into account since the last promotion. They are NOT cumulative. Each cadre calls for its renewed input. This is where the biggest variations are witnessed, amongst universities, especially in Kenya. The criteria are set by Senates and approved by University Councils. The requirements at this level are sometimes abused hence degrade the quality of the institution. The Chairman of the Council chairs Professorial promotions, using the laid down guidelines. There should not be any political interference.

The next higher academic rank is that of a Full Professor. The requirements here are stiffer than those of Associate Professor. One needs to publish more papers or a book or books, supervise more M.Sc. and Ph.D. candidates to completion, may have made a breakthrough innovation in his/her own area of expertise and contributed to society. There may be additional requirements again on this position. All these demands are not additive to the previous other promotions, but a new; since the last promotion. There could be some minor variations from one university to another. This is where the “great controversies” arise. Some universities may opt to lower the requirements in order to attract candidates. Many reasons are attributed to this. The anomaly may lead to an abuse of scholarly rigor and will eventually lower the academic standards of such an institution. It is the graduates who suffer. Occasionally, staff moves on promotion from one University to another with an intention of returning back on an accelerated promotion. They end up returning to the same point they left. There is no specific time period to move from one cadre to another but the requirements dictate the duration and it is not a short time span.

The title Professor, therefore, honours both the Associate and Full Professor and is thus used. Ordinary people do not know the difference until they are told. The salutation does not usually signify the specific rank unless one wants to find more on the actual academic status of an individual.

One fact that we must all bear in mind is that each University uses their own criteria to promote their staff. Some are very lenient indeed, others are extremely demanding. The duration it takes from Lecturer to Full Professor is long and one can opt not to bother, with the next promotion. It is very easy to gauge what kind of universities and staff we have and make your own conclusions on the quality of education we have in Kenya. The mobility of lecturers to greener pastures on promotion is not helping in the development of our country but mass production of graduates who may be wanting. A critical look at the proliferation of colleges is a very worrying trend compounded with their tribal administrative structures. Hence missing the prime objective of Universities (training for national and international consumption and not communities).

All those who call themselves Professors know abundantly well that they are misusing the title just as one cannot start calling oneself “His Grace, His Worship, His Highness etc ….” The title Professor carries scholarly weight and is not a nickname.


Michieka is a Full Professor, University of Nairobi
Former Vice-Chancellor, JKUAT and Former Director General, NEMA