Challenges of Government-Financed Public Universities. A Case Study of Moi University, Kenya

Case Study from the year 2018 in the subject Pedagogy - School System, Educational and School Politics, , language: English, abstract: This study is design to determine the challenges facing effectiveness of government financing public Universities education in Kenya. The data will be collected through questionnaires and interview guide. The data will be analyzed with the help of statistic package for social science (SPSS) to facilitate answering the research objectives and questions. Data will be collected from January to December 2017 in the case Moi University from a sample population of 10 top university management staff, 36 heads of department (HoDs) and 36 undergraduate students. The validity and the reliability test of the questionnaire will be based on cronbach alpha. This was done using descriptive statistics. The results of the data showed the challenges facing effectiveness of government financing public universities includes: inadequate funding for capital development and infrastructure; higher education facilities, including research laboratories and university libraries, fell into disrepair; challenges like failure to pay lecturers on time, underfunding of research, crumbling physical infrastructure, strikes by lecturers and students and a lack of teaching materials among others; challenged by government interference that influenced university governance; political model and bureaucratic model of administration play a more prominent role in government financing of public universities. As shown in the study, the most cited strategies measures by the respondents were: establishing lean & efficient management systems & cutting of waste; encouraging universities to be more 'entrepreneurial' in providing their services and seeking contracts for research and consultancy; effective communication between policy makers and implementers; designing or improving systems of student support including grants, scholarships, and student loans. The study recommends the adoption of performance-based funding to enhance quality in higher education. It adds knowledge to the area of educational policy, which would reveal other areas that might require further study.