The Role of the University Planner in Kenya

Abstract

Despite the clear importance of investment in higher education for economic growth and social development, the sector is in crisis throughout the world. In all countries, higher education is heavily dependent on government funding. In an era of widespread fiscal constraints, developed as well as developing countries are grappling with the challenge. of preserving or improving higher education quality as education budgets are compressed. The crisis is most acute in the developing world, both because fiscal adjustments have been harsher and because it has been more difficult for developing countries expansion, given relatively low enrolment ratios. Obviously there is a wide range of determinants of low levels of efficiency in higher education. But ineffective utilisation and development of available resources (human, material and financial). is in part attributable to the scarcity of quality management, the scarcity of trained administrators, to poor organisation and planning, and to the lack of incentives for cost-effective management. This study attempts to redress this imbalance. The study begins by introducing the concept of strategic planning and argues that the concept has relevance and applicability in Kenyan public universities. The study suggests that only if the right management structure is in place can the university institutions hope to cope quickly and decisively and develop corporate strategy. However, the need to mobilize greater private financing and the need for the government to giv,e universities greater autonomy to manage their affairs are necessary conditions for future universities' development.