A more expensive university system is good for Kenya

The recent announcement that university education will cost upto Kshs. 700,000 per year has caused alot of uproar.

The way i see it, education serves three major functions in Kenya.
1. A means for getting work
2. A status symbol
3. Institutions for the pursuit of knowledge

The way it is right now, everyone wants to get a degree for the status it profers rather than the value it adds. As a result the jobs market is full of graduates who are doing clerical work for which they ought not to have sought degrees. Within such a context, a degree is too high a price to pay especially considering that many Kenyans are poor and education already is the highest expense in the country.

What we need to do is to expand and improve the middle level educational facilities and sell to Kenyans the idea that a diploma is pretty good - one can attain a good living without a degree! It is also imperative that there be a clear progression from the middle levels through to the highest levels of education.