Admission of women students soars to more than 100,000

The number of women students entering Kenyan universities rose at the fastest rate ever – by more than 30% – last year, and for the first time there are more than 100,000 female students in higher education, new government data show.

Kenya’s recently released Economic Survey 2013, a document that tracks annual economic data across all sectors, showed that there were some 105,115 female students enrolled in universities in 2012, up from 80,560 the year before.

This highlighted a trend over the past five years that has seen female enrolment rise faster than that of males, whose number rose by 15% – half the growth rate of women – from 117,700 in 2011 to 135,436 last year.

The high number of female candidates seeking places in universities was replicated in primary schools, where more girls than boys are enrolled. The growth rate for girls increased by 1.6% from 4.8 million in 2011 to 4.9 million last year, while that of boys grew by just 0.7% from 4.9 million to five million.

In secondary schools, total enrolment of girls rose by 9.4% to 895,792 while that of boys grew by 7.4% to hit one million, further closing the number differences in secondary schools.

Kenya has been pushing to close a gender gap that had seen a large number of girls and women miss out on opportunities including in education and jobs, in a heavily male-dominated society. The new education statistics highlight a major shift, which could redefine gender dynamics in employment and education.

The country’s constitution, enacted in 2010, demands that key offices such as boards in state-owned companies should not comprise more than two-thirds of either gender. The regulatory Capital Markets Authority is seeking to enforce measures aimed at ensuring greater gender equity on boards, to break male domination of the corporate world.

Overall admissions rise

Overall admissions to universities rose by 21% last year – the fastest growth ever – from 198,260 in 2011 to 240,551 in 2012. The increase in enrolment was higher than the 11.6% recorded in 2011, when Kenyan universities admitted a double intake of students.

The double intake was one of the ways the government attempted to clear an admissions backlog that had grown to 40,000 over three decades. It meant that students who qualified for degree courses had to wait two years before being admitted to government-funded courses.

“The growth in enrolments can be attributed to the creation of new universities,” said Treasury Secretary Anne Waiguru when releasing the economic survey.

Earlier this year, Kenya kicked off plans to upgrade 15 university colleges into fully fledged universities as it sought capacity to enrol at least 10,000 extra students annually. The upgrade saw the number of public universities triple, from seven to 22.

Two years ago, most colleges were upgraded into university colleges affiliated to the seven public universities. Eight of the colleges admitted 4,500 students in the 2012 intake.

But the effectiveness of the plan, educationists said, would be judged on its ability to help boost enrolments while maintaining teaching quality, which has been faltering. The number of school-leavers seeking higher education has been growing faster than universities have been able to expand infrastructure, and there is a shortage of lecturers and poor funding.

Kenya increased funding for higher education by 30% for the financial year beginning in July. The allocation to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology will rise from KSh61 billion (US$717 million) in the current year to KSh80 billion (US$941 million) in the coming year.

But funding is still lagging behind the rise in enrolments of the past six years, signalling that universities will continue to find it hard to meet student demand for facilities and teaching.

The Treasury said the new universities were to be financed to the tune of KSh350 million each for recurrent expenditure and KSh280 million each for development spending to upgrade physical infrastructure.

Data released last month by the Joint Admissions Board, or JAB – the agency that admits regular students to universities – show that 11,000 more learners than last year will join the new institutions in the coming year, potentially lifting the total number of enrolments to 252,000 by the end of this year.

The rise in student numbers was also occasioned by JAB’s decision to lower the entry mark from last year’s 63 to 61, effectively roping in more students.

But universities continue to face infrastructure challenges in admitting more students.

This saw the University of Nairobi go slow on admissions, losing its long-held position as the institution that enrols the highest number of students. The institution will admit 5,387 new students, less than Moi University’s 5,861 and Kenyatta University’s 5,556.

Administrators told the press recently that Nairobi had not matched the infrastructure growth of Moi and Kenyatta, pointing to a possible shift in power in Kenyan higher education.

At least 69,900 candidates who attained the national school-leaving exam pass mark of C+ last year failed to be admitted to government-sponsored courses, meaning they will have to fight for spaces in private universities or enrol in costly ‘parallel’ programmes. The rest could find their way into the tertiary institutions offering diploma and certificate courses.