Debate about the merits of regional
integration often degenerates into harebrained and vain nationalistic preening.
But here is what these nationalist bigots must know. On average 56 percent of
students graduating from East African universities lack basic and technical
skills needed in the job market.
In short, 56 percent of our graduates are
half-baked. This sobering finding was revealed May 2014 in a study conducted
by the Inter-University for East Africa (IUCEA) and the East African Business
Council (EABC) to establish employers’ perceptions of graduates.
At least 63 percent of graduates from Ugandan
universities lack job market skills. In Tanzania 61 percent of graduates were
unsuitable for the job market. In Burundi and Rwanda, 55 percent and 52 percent
of graduates respectively were perceived to be incompetent. In Kenya, 51
percent of graduates were believed to be unemployable.
About a decade ago I sat in an interview
panel to recruit a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) analyst. One
candidate stood out. He had graduated with a first class honors degree. His
transcript was stupendous. For the panel, he was the candidate to watch. The
panel dubbed him the “A” candidate. In the pre-interview rating the position
was his to lose.
In just five short minutes it was clear that
the “A” candidate would not get the job. He could not speak with clarity. The
“A” candidate had no capacity for problem solving, or complex reasoning. The
“A” candidate could not analyze a simple practical non-technical problem, which
required application of knowledge. But he was at his best when asked to define
things. To say that there was a disjunction between the transcripts and the
candidate is euphemistic. A majority of students graduating from our
universities do not posses higher-order cognitive skills, which college
students are widely assumed to have.
For all the public resources we pump into
them, East Africa’s colleges and universities accomplish far too little for our
children. The trouble is that the universities don’t even think there is a
problem. In the IUCEA and EABC study, 82 percent of higher institutions
interviewed maintained that graduates were adequately prepared for the job
market.
That universities believe they are doing
stellar job in preparing graduates for the workplace is hardly surprising. It
reflects how out of touch the academy is from society. It reaffirms the need
for deep and fundamental reform in the purpose and function of the university
in the 21st century.
There is a fundamental problem of limited
learning leading to low quality of graduates from our universities, caused by
many factors such as quality of high school education, quality the
professoriate, relevance of undergraduate curriculum, and the quality of
educational facilities in our university, including labs, libraries etc.
Given the preponderance of rote learning in
our high schools most students enter university without high-order critical
thinking and complex reasoning skills. Our obsession with high-test scores in
national exams prevents teachers and students from focusing on the true mission
education: a commitment to a life of the mind and a love of life long learning.
There is evidence that academically rigorous
approaches to teaching and learning are associated with enhanced performance on
tasks requiring critical thinking, complex reasoning, oral and written
communication. Transforming higher education to focus on learning will need
changing students’ experience; from the requirements of course work to faculty
engagement and feedback. Learning and academic achievement must be the central
focus of undergraduate education. Students must be engaged actively in the
learning process, through experimentation, application and working in teams. We
must demand more from students and professors.
We must develop a culture of accountability
in our universities. Without resorting to externally imposed accountability
systems universities should be encouraged to develop specific and clear goals
for student learning and to collect objective, and verifiable data about how
students are achieving their learning goals, across all undergraduate programs.
Ideally, the results of such self-assessment should be made available to
prospective students and their parents.
A steady path to regional integration demands
a modern railway network, reliable energy, robust trade and secure borders. However,
a prosperous people-centered region depends, ultimately, on innovators and
entrepreneurs who create good jobs and stable incomes, which rely on a sizable
college educated middle class produced by world-class universities. We must reform
higher education and provide the necessary incentives to encourage constructive
reform in our underachieving universities.
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