Free Higher Education Phase: 1963 - 1974

Higher education in Kenya was historically free, with the public purse covering both tuition and living allowances (Weidman, 1995; Wangenge-Ouma, 2008; Yakaboski and Nolan, 2011). In addition, the World Bank, international community and many other donor countries supported fully investment in free higher education. The rationales behind free higher education are basically two. The university was/is seen as the focal point of economic development, and the country, just like other newly independent developing states, needed a great number of skilled personnel for economic development. In support of this, Wangenge-Ouma (2008: 220) says the country desired to create highly trained person power that could replace colonial administrators, and also to ensure equity of access. Arguably, equity of access is a commendable strategy to achieving highly skilled human resource and most importantly alleviates regional disparities as colonial creation. The implementation of this requires welfare policies. The Ominde Commission Report of 1964 noted that unless the education system served the people of Kenya without discrimination and promoted national unity regardless of colour, race or creed it would be incomplete in its endeavour to build one Kenya, one people (Eshiwani, 1993: 26-27). It is this report which fostered utilitarian.

Weidman (1995) emphasizes that in a welfare-dominated post colonial period, it was argued

204 A diploma-awarding institution.

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that unless the state subsidized the highly expensive higher education, many students would be unable to benefit from it, and that formation of person power would be compromised.

There are two ideas communicated from Weidman’s assertion. First, higher education is highly expensive, in other words, to access such education it demands huge capital. Second, as a result of colonialism many people were poor and thus could not afford to access the highly expensive higher education. The government therefore has to ensure equal access to university through policy formulation and implementation. In this endeavor the provision and financing of higher education was put under control of the Kenyan government.

Apparently, the country has maintained both the Kenya’s basic structure of capitalist economy (Lando and Bujra, 2009: 15) and parliamentary form of government under a one-party²⁰⁵ state (Osler, 1993: 166). Kenya was guided by developmentalism and national building²⁰⁶ framework reflected in the “African Socialism”. The Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965 was formulated in 1964 to provide specific directions for implementation of the grand framework.

For example, the first President Kenyatta explicitly expresses in the preamble to the Sessional Paper No. 10 that, “…We have rejected both Western Capitalism and Eastern Socialism…in practice the overriding priority of economic policy as Sessional Paper No. 10 lays out was to be the pursuit of economic growth through private capital and trade”. Looking at this statement thematically nothing sounded socialist within Kenya’s African Socialism.

Neverthelss, Most developing countries including Kenya joined a Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)²⁰⁷ whereas, one of the criteria for NAM membership was that member countries could not be involved in alliances or defense pacts with the main world powers. However, the socialist aspect in Kenya’s political economy is reflected in self help and self reliance policies rooted in ‘Harambee²⁰⁸’. It was the first formal call by the first President Kenyatta, immediately after independence, for building a new Kenyan nation.

205 Kenya was a de facto one-party state from 1969 to 1982, later after attempted coup on President Moi’s government by disgruntled Kenya Air Force Soldiers in 1982, became a de jure one-party state. Until, 1991 Kenya re-introduced multi-party system as a result of the collapse of Communist bloc and external pressure to impose democracy from donor countries (Ochieng, 2007).

206 For example, in President Kenyatta’s speech on 28 May 1963, when KANU’s victory in the general elections was announced, he underlined the concepts of building one nation, and forging national unity (Mbithi and Rasmusson, 1977: 146).

207 NAM is a group of states declaring themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. It therefore, means a state can receive economic assistance from any of the two blocs without adverse consequences.

208 Harambee is a Swahili word referring to ‘all pull together’. Communities were encouraged to work together to raise funds for the implementation of local projects, including education. Lillis (1987: 99) says ‘Harambee’

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Consequently, the parliament decided to rate education and agriculture the highest development priority²⁰⁹. The belief was to invest in people and agriculture so as to achieve economic development. To this end, the government adopted welfarist or Keynesian development paradigm which favoured the government’s direct commitments and responsibilities in public provisioning (Wangenge-Ouma, 2008: 220). Such control of the government in the provision and financing of higher education facilitated the dramatic increase of students seeking university education. More universities were established to include: Moi University (MU) in 1984²¹⁰; Kenyatta University (KU) in 1985²¹¹; Egerton University (Egerton) in 1987²¹²; Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) in 1988²¹³; Maseno University (MaU) in 1991²¹⁴; and Masinde Muliro University (MMU) in 2006. It is interesting to note that five (5) universities out of the current seven (7) were established between 1980s and 1990s. Several factors may have contributed to that. One of them is political leadership. This was the era of the second President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi (1978 - 2002). He decided to establish universities in a very short interval for the purpose of responding to historical and regional inequalities²¹⁵. For example, the president gave directives in 1980 to establish a second university before the end of Development Plan period, 1979 – 1983 (Sifuna, 2010: 416). The university was established by his name and located in Rift Valley province which is his province of domicile. He also became the chancellor of all public universities. Apart from political leadership, private financing has a greater contribution (to be discussed later).

Free higher education did actually lead to the expansion of enrolments. For example, enrolments upsurge from 571 in 1963 (Kenya Central Bureau of Statistics, 1983; Hughes, 1994; Weidman, 1995; Ngovoloi, 2008; Wangenge-Ouma, 2008; Mugenda, 2009; Sifuna, school system came as a strategy to relieve the government from budget constraints in supporting education in 1980s.

209 Post-independent development plan (Government of Kenya, 1964).

210 University website http://www.mu.ac.ke/en/index.php/introduction accessed on 21 January 2013.

211 University website http://www.ku.ac.ke/index.php/conference accessed on 21 January 2013.

212 University website http://www.egerton.ac.ke/ accessed on 21 January 2013.

213University website http://www.jkuat.ac.ke/history/ accessed on 21 January 2013.

214 University website

http://maseno.ac.ke/index/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=147&Itemid=174 accessed on 21 January 2013.

215 Sifuna (2010: 417) puts it plainly that a number of universities were subsequently established in the country to satisfy ethnic interests, especially those of the larger groups. These are Kikuyu and Luo. Arguably, access to university reflects ethnic groups and in absence of appropriate education financing mechanism the minor ethnic groups are denied access to university greatly.

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2010; Yakaboski and Nolan, 2011) to 5411 in 1983 (Kenya Central Bureau of Statistics, 1983; Wangenge-Ouma, 2008) and 26,092 in 1990 (Wangenge-Ouma, 2008). The high increase of students placed great demand of finances to the government. Meanwhile, the country was experiencing economic crisis following world’s oil crisis in 1970s. Generally, economic performance was declining since independence. The Government of Kenya (2006:

2) acknowledges this fact. I quote, “the performance of Kenyan government deteriorated markedly in 1980s and 1990s, with growth falling below its potential. This was due to external shocks and braod-based decline in productivity of investments; near collapse of physical infrastructure and insufficient use of public resources”. Similarly, The Point (2000, issue 35, p.2) agrees, “Kenya’s economic performance has been declining rather sharply since independence. Annual GDP growth rates droped from an average of 6.7 percent in 1960s and 1970s to an all time low of 2 percent in 1990s due to choice of inappropriate development strategies; collapse of infrastructure; unstable and conflictual macroeconomic environment; an overheated/uncertain institutional and political environment; decline in regional markets especially after collapse of East African Comminity in 1977; poorly managed policy and transition.”. Thus, the government was fraught with several demands in the provision of social services. It became very difficult to adequately finance university education by providing full scholarships and grants. This, among other factors, led to the introduction of cost sharing.