2ND CARTA VICE CHANCELLOR'S MEETING CARTA 2ND VICE CHANCELLORS MEETING REPORT | Page 16

© Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) & University of Nairobi (UoN)
KEYNOTE SPEECH
By Prof. Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, Board Chairman, Commission for University
Education (CUE)
The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Chacha Nyaigotti-Chaacha, the Board Chair for the
Commission for University Education (CUE). He delivered the keynote address on behalf of the
Cabinet Secretary (CS), Ministry of Education, Dr. Fred Matiang’i. Prof. Nyaigotti said the CS would
have loved to officially open the meeting but was not able to due to other work commitments.
Prof. Nyaigotti began by thanking Prof. Peter Mbithi, Vice Chancellor, University of Nairobi and Prof.
Alex Ezeh, Executive Director, African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) & Co-
Director Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) for co-hosting the timely
meeting of Vice Chancellors and Heads of partner research institutes of CARTA to deliberate on the
research funding landscape in Africa and ideas on how to improve doctoral training.
Prof. Nyaigotti said he was honored to grace the VCs’ meeting. He pointed out that African
universities had increased tremendously over the years and they were constantly producing graduates.
Prof. Nyaigotti said that PhD students should be allowed to participate and practice in the disciplines
of their choice. This is because there is a big pool of PhD graduates from international Universities like
Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford and Yale who are not practicing what they studied for in their PhDs or
Post Docs. He requested CARTA to promote this free choice of courses by their research fellows.
Prof. Nyaigotti referred to the UoN Towers as a creation of the African mind and commended the
effort African Universities were making. He pointed out that Graduate Assistants and Tutorial fellows
should be given an opportunity to develop their capacity right from the bottom level and enable
them to climb up the academic career ladder. Staff development programs must therefore be at the
center-stage if African Universities are to build the capacity of their staff. This includes scholarships for
staff and professional development trainings. To achieve this, self-initiatives must be introduced by the
academic staff.
There has also been a mismatch between learners and professors, he added. Professors are directing
their efforts on publication and not on learners. Prof. Nyaigotti pointed out that Governments also
have a responsibility to play. Universities should be entwined with the economic well-being of a
State/Nation, the bearing being on development. The mismatch between the political elite and
university leadership must be dealt with in order to achieve quality PhD training, Prof. Nyaigotti
stated.
In his speech, Prof. Nyaigotti further advised that CARTA should impact society and create
opportunities for African researchers. He commended the Ford Foundation for being a partner and
supporter of CARTA and urged CARTA to borrow from the International Fellowships Program (IFP)
funded by Ford Foundation. Prof. Nyaigotti indicated that key government officials (three Senators,
six Members of Parliament, one speaker in the county assembly and Executive Officers) had gone
through the IFP program and CARTA should borrow from lessons learnt.
CARTA’s 2 nd Vice Chancellor’s Meeting –Report of meeting proceedings – July 10-11, 2017
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