Kenya need to be producing 1,000 philosophy of doctorate (PhD) graduates every year to match with the increasing number of qualifying undergraduate students to local universities which is projected to hit a mark of 230, 118 by 2015 and Kenya's need of huge research out put required to realize Vision 2030, Prof Shaukat Abdulrazak, secretary and CEO, National Council of Science and Technology (NCST) has said.
Prof Abdulrazak, who was speaking during the launch of NCST strategic plan 2009-2013 and service delivery charter at KICC said the council needs Sh 7 billion to increase the number of masters and PhD candidate benefiting from the research grant. Kenya is averagely producing 200 PhD graduates annually.
He said increasing the number of PhD holders in the country will strengthen science and technology infrastructure for productivity growth through the generation of new ideas to drive the frontier of knowledge outward, adding that PhD holders comes handy in the improvement of absorptive capacity needed to draw on the knowledge others have already generated for Kenya to catch up with the rest of the world.
The government's "National Strategy for University Education" (NSUE), to be implemented by 2015, says the number of doctoral graduates produced per year indicates the progress a university or country is making. “Given the Kenyan population, Kenyan universities produce insufficient number of PhD graduates to stand a chance of inventing something new.”
The strategy whose task force was created by the ministry of higher education proposes the establishment of National Research Foundation (NRF) to fund research especially at PhD level.
The NSUE says PhD is the entry point for lectureship in all universities. It notes that the number of PhD holders and professors must increase in Kenyan universities from the present trend where its only the University of Nairobi which has more than 300 professors while some universities have none.
However, the strategy calls for the establishment of flexible terms of service that allows the lectures to undertake consultancies within the university and retain 80 percent of the proceeds while 20 percent is given to the university.
Similarly, lectures will negotiate arrangements for the sharing of royalties and licenses; additionally, it will establish flexible programs for the lecture that allow taking of sabbatical leave and supported travel to attend international conferences to present papers.
Prof Shem Wandiga, who chaired the task force in the formulation of the Strategic plan says investing in higher education in general and in doctoral graduates in particular will enable Kenya to compete at the global market on equal footing with other countries. “Knowledge gained through university education should be harnessed to solve common societal problems and often adds value to various sectors of the national economy.”
Prof Wandiga, the director for the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations, a UNESCO associated centre says Kenya is ability to use knowledge could dramatically raise agricultural productivity, reduce disease burden, protect the environment, add value to local resources and the tourism sector, by embedding knowledge and culture into tourism products, and establish Kenya as a hub for financial services.
He says Kenyan graduates from all levels and disciplines should learn to socialize and commercialize their knowledge through entrepreneurship as they scale to PhD to fortify their research capacity in their areas of interest. Nevertheless, he says their in an urgent need to expand science, engineering and technology areas. “There is also evidence of declining quality of professional university education in engineering, law and science.”
Dr Christoph Hansert, Director, DAAD, the German Development Agency who gave the key note address during the launch of NCST strategic plan said for Kenya to build its research base it must be producing more PhD graduates than before. He said as much as some universities are adopting to project program in some discipline of study as opposed to the traditional thesis writing, research methodology should be thoroughly thought and mustered by both. “Every discipline needs in-depth research to generate new ideas, means of solving its related challenges.”
Dr Hansert said professors need to mentor their students for them to embrace the place of doctoral education not only here in Kenya but to pursue the program in other countries. He says mentorship is wanting in Kenyan universities which is leading to few applicants for scholarships offered annually – which some of them have been missing right candidates.
For, Dr Soichiro Shiraishi of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Director, Nairobi Research Station said Kenya can make a quantum leap in its economic development by imitating Japan which has been sending its graduates students to other countries to acquire and familiarize themselves with their knowledge, technology and best practices before returning home to contextualize it.
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