Diplomas have long been recognised as important qualifications in Kenya, serving as essential pathways to professional and technical careers. Historically, these qualifications are more effectively offered by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, otherwise known as middle-level colleges, like polytechnics and technical institutes than by universities.

However, many universities continue to offer diploma programmes, primarily as a source of extra income in their appropriation-in-aid. This practice runs counter to the spirit of the Universities Act 2012, which envisions a clear distinction between the roles of universities and TVETs in the education sector.

The Commission for University Education (CUE), Universities Fund, and Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) are all creations of the Universities Act. CUE rightfully accredited diploma programmes before the adoption of the TVET Act 2013, which created the TVET Authority, the entity that regulates and accredits vocational, artisan, craft, certificate and undergraduate diploma training.

On the arrival of the TVET Act, CUE should have relinquished the accreditation of undergraduate diplomas to TVETA. In 2013 and after, universities put up a fierce and spirited fight that saw them continue to offer diploma programmes. My conviction is well in line with the spirit of the Universities Act 2012, that universities should focus on offering degree programmes at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. The only diplomas that universities should offer, and which CUE should accredit, are postgraduate ones.

Time and again the government has made its stance clear through the actions it has taken on the undergraduate diplomas issue. For instance, it is explicit that the government does not sponsor students who enrol in senate-approved diploma courses at universities. Instead, government diploma scholarships and loans are directed to students attending public TVET institutions, placed there by KUCCPS and funded by both UF Universities Fund and the Higher Education Loans Board per the new TVET financing model. In this five-banded model, band one – the neediest students – gets up to 92.5 per cent funding, whereas band 5 – the least needy – gets up to 73 per cent.

Parents and guardians should take note of this policy shift. Sending students to a TVET for diploma programmes not only assures them of more cost-effective appropriate training but also ensures that students are eligible for government scholarships and financial aid.

While universities are discouraged from offering diplomas directly, they are permitted to establish subsidiary institutions or colleges or centres dedicated to these lower programmes. Such subsidiaries should be fully accredited by TVETA and their curricula approved by a certification council.

To make the centres more cost-effective, they could be multi-accredited by the Kenya National Examinations Council, Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board among others, but not CUE. This way, the subsidiary institutions will be open to the placement of students by KUCCPS, and the students become eligible outright for government financial support.

The focus on TVET institutions for diploma and certificate programmes aligns with the broader goal of strengthening the TVET sub-sector. There has been a deliberate government effort in recent years to better equip TVETs to provide hands-on and practical training that prepares students for immediate entry into the workforce, addressing the skills gap in various industries. Steering all diploma and certificate programmes back to TVETs will ensure a more efficient, cost-effective, and purpose-driven education system that meets the diverse needs of Kenya’s economy.

Universities are unique teaching institutions where instructors must have a PhD to qualify to teach. It is an example of suboptimal use of advanced expertise to assign such high-calibre staff to instruct diploma students as their core duty. This practice risks diluting the PhD impact on university-level education. Repealing existing legislative frameworks will help in keeping universities away from diploma programmes.

— The writer is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Eldoret-