Kenya’s Edulink, UK varsity to offer degree courses in Nairobi

Edulink International College campus on Ngong Road in Nairobi. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU 

By NEVILLE OTUKI, notuki@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Students will pay Sh1.2 million for the three-year degree courses, which is equivalent to Sh400,000 per year.

UK-based University of Northampton has partnered with Nairobi-based Edulink International College to offer three-year degree courses locally from next month at Sh1.2 million, eyeing Kenyan students seeking international qualifications.

This will see Edulink offer diploma and degree courses in business, marketing, accounting and entrepreneurship at its Ngong Road campus in Nairobi.

“We seek to bring international experience to the Kenyan market,” the UK university told Business Daily. Students will pay Sh1.2 million for the three-year degree courses, which is equivalent to Sh400,000 per year.

This is more than double what local private universities charge. Officials, however, justified the cost saying the Nairobi institution will spare students the hassles of flying abroad to seek qualifications recognised globally.

Foreign business degrees, especially from top-flight universities, are deemed superior when seeking plum jobs or promotion.

The number of Kenyan students enrolling in UK universities stood at 1,125 in 2012, according to data from the British High Commission in Nairobi.

Kenyan students have, however, cited tight immigration rules, high tuition fees and expenses as hindrances to overseas studies.

Foreign undergraduates pay an average of Sh1.4 million (£10,700) per year for arts courses in the UK and Sh1.6 million (£11,800) annually for science disciplines.

This makes the courses offered in Kenya’s capital by Northampton about Sh3 million cheaper, excluding expenses in accommodation and upkeep.

Nairobi has been on the radar of top-tier global business schools as Kenyans attach a premium to higher education as a ticket to better socio-economic fortunes.

Last October, top US institutions Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business pitched camp in Nairobi to recruit students for their MBA programmes.

READ: US, British varsities lose the race for Kenyan students

The number of students enrolled in Kenyan universities grew 15.6 per cent last year to 512,924 students, buoyed by expansion of facilities and setting up of new campuses.

The Dubai-based Edulink picked Nairobi as its African headquarters and spent Sh300 million in setting up its learning facilities. The college on Ngong Road has a capacity of 1,500 students who will enjoy the services of guest lecturers from the UK.

Learners will also be based at incubation centres to develop business ideas as a pathway to entrepreneurship.

A recent World Bank survey found that one in every five Kenyan youths of working age has no job, making Kenya’s youth unemployment the worst case in East Africa.

This has been blamed on graduates’ preference for the limited formal sector employment opportunities as opposed to creating jobs — besides their lack of specific industry skills.

Official data shows that the economy added 128,000 formal jobs last year compared to about half a million new graduates eyeing jobs every year.

The partnership between the college in Nairobi and the UK-based university has been approved by the Commission for University Education, the sector regulator, as required by law.