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Kenya: A shrinking supply of skilled labour despite expansion of Higher Education

Despite expansion of higher education in Kenya, the World Bank reports that there is a shrinking supply of skilled labour.

According an article in the University World News analysing the report, expansion of higher education in Kenya has had a negative impact on quality with graduates lacking technical and other skills valued by employers such as problem solving and capacity to learn new skills.

Universities, pressed by reduced funding from government have put much more focus on revenue generation with little focus on building strong quality assurance mechanisms.

In a recent recruitment exhibition by UK universities held by the British Council in Nairobi, 95% of prospective students cited quality as the reason they were seeking studies abroad. Kenya was the only country in Sub Saharan Africa to see a rise – 2.4% in the number of students going to study in the UK in 2014/5 according to HESA statistics