© Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa( CARTA) & University of Nairobi( UoN)
2. Insufficient government funding and commitments
This is the second challenge facing PhD training as highlighted by Prof. Mbithi. Insufficient government funding and poor commitment have had depressive consequences on the effective doctoral and research training capacity and funding. Doctoral programs are hardly funded and thus no firm research base is created in most of the African universities. State funding of higher education has been declining over the years, for instance in Kenya this has moved from 0.94 % in 1996 – 2000 to 0.74 % in 2000 – 2005. African governments also, have failed to put in place policies that recognize the fundamental impact research activities could have on governance and efficient use of public resources. Governments need to develop and implement policies to support PhD and research training.
3. Poor Remuneration of Researchers at Universities
Prof. Mbithi pointed out that faculty carry heavy teaching loads without the benefit of modern teaching aids. There is also non-commitment to proper training of postgraduates by high-quality educational researchers. In addition, opportunities for scholarships and other support programs for graduate students have diminished.
4. Low Number of Postgraduates & Academics holding Doctoral degrees
From Prof. Mbithi’ s presentation, it came out clear that more than half of the 10,350 lecturers in Kenya have no PhDs. Only 4,394 students or 1 % of the total population of learners are enrolled for doctoral degrees. The low ratio of PhD holders compared to students enrolled has affected the enrollment of graduate students, supervisors and completion rates.
5. Few Private Industries are willing to conduct collaborative research
In Africa, most private companies rarely conduct collaborative research with public universities as compared to those in developed nations. Universities need to have collaborative research with external industry players so as to build the necessary infrastructure that supports continuing research activities.
Recommendations for Effective strategies
It is inconceivable for Africa to attain meaningful development in the 21st century without research capacity building for the generation of new knowledge. Prof. Mbithi highlighted the following recommendations that African universities can maximize on to increase the numbers of PhD graduates and improve on the quality of graduate training.
1. Revitalization of Graduate Study
This calls for universities to improve access to library resources and provide appropriate incentives to senior scholars to devote more attention to the supervision and mentoring of graduate students. Universities must also provide expanded avenues for dissemination of PhD and Masters Dissertation. Publications must be disseminated electronically through online e-journals for ease of access.
2. Funding through Strong Partnership and linkage with External Industries
Universities must strive to collaborate with industry players for them to be able to move strides ahead in higher education, research and development.
27
CARTA’ s 2 nd Vice Chancellor’ s Meeting – Report of meeting proceedings – July 10-11, 2017