The University of Nairobi is set to abolish more courses barely a year after it scrapped up to 250 courses. Reports say that the additional University of Nairobi courses will be trimmed from the current 324 with more focus on engineering, medicine and IT.
Last year, UoN trimmed its courses by closing down eight campuses, collapsing of faculty functions from 35 to 11, abolishing offices, merging functions, and creating new posts its rankings in what was termed as a move to avoid function duplicity.
“We were offering more than 500 courses but we cut these to 300 but we can still push them down. Senate is engaging to see which ones we continue to downsize so that we focus where we have a competitive edge as a university. We cannot just do what everybody else is doing, we must stick to where we know we are the best,” UoN Vice-Chancellor Stephen Kiama told a local daily.
According to Professor Kiama, although UoN has already trimmed its courses by 250, it is still incurring more costs than it is generating by offering its current batch of degrees.
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The reduction in the number of courses the university will be offering is part of cost cutting measures that the institution has been taking to stay afloat. “The university has decided to take drastic action to cut costs to ensure that the University of Nairobi is not removed from the map of Kenya. We must try as much as possible to live close to our means and improve our revenue,” Professor Kiama told the daily.
Over the recent few months, local universities including Egerton University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, and Kenyatta University have been facing intensive financial difficulties that have resulted in closures and inability to pay staff on time.