From Colonial Elitism to Moi's Populism: The Policies and

351 Pages·2009·1.52 MB·English

FROM COLONIAL ELITISM TO MOI'S POPULISM: THE POLICIES AND POLITICS OF
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN KENYA, 1949-2002

Michael Mwenda Kithinji

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green
State University in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
August 2009
Committee:
Apollos Nwauwa, Advisor
Kefa M. Otiso
Graduate Faculty Representative
Lillian Ashcraft-Eason
Douglas Forsyth
© 2009
Michael Mwenda Kithinji
All Rights Reserved
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ABSTRACT

Apollos O Nwauwa, Advisor

This study explores the evolution of policies on access to university education in
Kenya between 1949 and 2002. The process of democratizing access during the period
under study proceeded unevenly due to the changing economic and political dynamics
that conversely affected the university policies. The first twenty years of university
experience in East Africa, between 1949 and 1969, witnessed very modest gains in access
to university. During this period, the colonial inter-territorial policy severely limited
access to university. The inter-territorial university policy was initiated by the British as
part of the colonial reform efforts aimed at creating a new kind of imperial partnership
with the subject people in the post-Second World War world. The implementation of the
inter-territorial policy in East Africa led to the establishment of the University of East
Africa with three university colleges of Makerere in Uganda, Dar-es-Salaam in
Tanganyika and Nairobi in Kenya. Britain insisted on the inter-territorial policy in the late
1950s and early 1960s even when it was apparent that it planned to grant independence to
its East African colonies territorially. This study shows that the inter-territorial policy was
a mechanism to ensure the continuation of British influence in East Africa in the post
independence period.
The realities of independence, however, conflicted with the inter-territorial policy.
The increasing demand for more university opportunities by East Africans put pressure on
their governments towards expansion of institutional facilities. Consequently, the East
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African governments responded by discontinuing the inter-territorial policy in 1969,
allowing for the creation of national universities. The Kenyan government established the
University of Nairobi and its constituent, Kenyatta University College in 1970. For the
next two years, Kenya witnessed tremendous expansion of university enrollment. But
beginning in 1973, the Kenyatta government suspended the expansion process on claims
of scarcity of finances. Despite the prevailing high demand, the Kenyatta government
retained the colonial elitist mentality that limited university access to only the cream of
the Kenyan society. All this changed with the coming to power of President Moi in 1978.
When Moi succeeded Kenyatta in 1978, the entire education system was reviewed and
reformed. Policies that were intended to democratize access to university education were
introduced. The reform strategy involved changing the education structure from the
British model that promoted elitism and severely restricted access to the more egalitarian
American model. By the time he left office in 2002, the number of universities and
students enrolments had increased tremendously.
This study is not merely a history of the foundation of universities in East Africa
or in Kenya. Rather, it utilizes historical research methods to investigate the reaction of
the successive governments in Kenya to the protracted demands for university access. In
doing so, it explores the connections between university access and lingering
controversies on East African regional integration, quality and relevance, university
autonomy, academic freedom, brain drain, university financing and funding, student
activism, university diversification and privatization.
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DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my grandparents:

Samuel Anampiu
Jennifer Anampiu
Maritha M’Inoti
Hezekiah M’Inoti (Late)

Through your narratives about the past and dedication to education, you inspired me to
pursue knowledge unrelentingly even when the going seemed tough and uncertain.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Limited space makes it difficult to mention everyone who helped me in my
academic journey. Those that I do not mention should know that I appreciate their
contributions. First, I would like to thank my parents, Paul and Penina Kithinji, for their
sacrifices to ensure that I received the best possible education. I am also indebted to
members of my extended family, especially Uncle John Gituma, who made possible my
dream of coming to America in search of higher education. I am also grateful to my
father and mother in-laws for their encouragement as I undertook this project. A special
note of gratitude is appropriate for Dr. Peter Nayenga who, as chair of the history
department at St. Cloud State University, Minnesota, provided me with an opportunity to
pursue a Masters degree in an American institution.
Words alone cannot express my gratitude to my advisor and Chair of my
dissertation committee, Dr. Apollos Nwauwa, and his wife Helen for showering me and
my wife with support, encouragement and compassion during the course of my doctoral
program. Due to Dr. Nwauwa’s intellect and unwavering commitment, I was able to
reach great heights of intellectual discovery beyond the horizons of what I considered
normally possible. This work would not be possible without Dr. Nwauwa’s rigorous
criticism and enlightened guidance. I am truly grateful to other members of my doctoral
committee- Dr. Lillian Ashcraft-Eason, Dr. Douglas Forsyth and Dr. Kefa Otiso for their
support and extraordinary dedication to my work.
I also extend my gratitude to the history department at Bowling Green State
University for providing me with an opportunity to pursue and earn a PhD especially with
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the generous resources and professional opportunities extended to me throughout the
course of my program. To Tina Amos and Dee Dee Wentland, thank you so much for all
your support and encouraging words. I would also like to acknowledge my former
graduate colleagues, Camilla Rodgers, Anthony Mutai and Dr. Ogechi Anyanwu of
Eastern Kentucky University, for their emotional and intellectual support that made
completion of this program possible. I want to thank Dr. Alice Taylor Colbert and all my
colleagues in the History Department at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith, for
having confidence in my abilities as a scholar and teacher even as I spent enormous
amount of time completing this dissertation. Lastly, thank you, my wife, Makena, for your
love, endurance and understanding while I completed this program. Above all, thanks to
the Almighty God!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1

CHAPTER I. THE STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL OF POLICY: BACKGROUND TO
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN KENYA……………………………………………...18

CHAPTER II. COLONIAL POLICIES AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF EAST AFRICA, 1953-1963…………………………………………67

CHAPTER III. ELITIST POLICIES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE
UNIVERSITY OF EAST AFRICA, 1962-1968………………………………………..121

CHAPTER IV. THE BIRTH OF A NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: THE CRISES OF
RESOURCES, ACADEMIC FREEDOMS AND STUDENT ACTIVISM, 1964-
1978………………………………………………...……………...…………………....165

CHAPTER V. POLITICAL CHANGE: THE ERA OF POLICY SHIFT AND RAPID
EXPANSION OF UNIVERSITIES, 1972-1985………...……………………………...216

CHAPTER VI. ELITISM AT BAY: THE CHALLENGES OF MASSIVE EXPANSION
OF UNIVERSITIES, 1982-2002………………….……………………………………263

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………309

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………326
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ASO: Agikuyu Student Organization
A- Level: Advanced Level
ACCCAST: Advisory Committee for Colonial Colleges of Arts, Science, and Technology
ACEC: Advisory Committee on Education in the Colonies
ACNETA: Advisory Committee on Native Education in Tropical Africa
B.ED: Bachelor of Education
BESS: British Expatriate Supplementation Scheme
CDWA: Colonial Development and Welfare Act
CHE: Commission for Higher Education
COCAST: Council for Overseas Colleges of Arts, Science and Technology
CO: Colonial Office
CUGAC: Colonial University Grants Advisory Committee
EACSO: East African Common Services Organization
GMAS: Gandhi Memorial Academy Society
HELB: Higher Education Loans Board
IUC: Inter-University Council for Higher Education in the Colonies
IMF: International Monetary Fund
JKUCAT: Jomo Kenyatta University College of Agriculture and Technology
JKUAT: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
KACE: Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education
KAU: Kenya African Union
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KADU: Kenya African Democratic Union
KANU: Kenya African National Union
KASU: Kenya African Students Association
KCSE: Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination
KPU: Kenya Peoples Party
KUC: Kenyatta University College
KCA: Kikuyu Central Association
KNA: Kenya National Archives
MIME: Mombasa Institute of Muslim Education
NARC: National Rainbow Coalition
NCEOP: National Commission on Education Objectives and Policies
NUKS: National Union of Kenya Students
NUSO: Nairobi University Students Organization
PAYE: Pay As You Eat
RTC: Royal Technical College
SDA: Seventh Day Adventist
SAP: Structural Adjustment Programs
SONU: Student Organization of Nairobi Union
UEA: University of East Africa
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization
USAID: United States Agency for International Development
U.K: United Kingdom
U.S.S.R: Union of Soviet Sociality Republic