Reasons Driving Many Students to Teaching Courses
Reasons Driving Many Students to Teaching Courses. The government has long debated abolishing various university and college programs due to their poor demand in the labor market.
In April 2019, the late Prof. George Magoha, who was the cabinet secretary for education at the time, suggested that 98 courses would be canceled due to low enrollment.
It’s noteworthy to note that President William Ruto, who was acting as Vice President at the time, recommended students to steer clear of majoring in pointless subjects like sociology and anthropology in October 2018.
There are valid concerns currently regarding the employability of a number of curricula.
According to data issued by the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (KUCCPS), more than 100 courses in the 2023 university placement cycle each attracted fewer than 10 students.
Despite these challenges, there have also been heartening advancements. Out of the more than 140,000 students the commission enrolled in various universities, the study states that about 30,000 of them decided to pursue a Bachelor of Education.
It is amazing that these students, who have the qualifications to pursue more specialized disciplines like pharmacy, medicine, or architecture, have chosen the B.A. in Education as their preferred course.
According to Professor Raphael Nyonje of the University of Nairobi’s Department of Education, they anticipate an even higher enrollment in this area as a result of the changing employment trends in the nation.
There are many of job opportunities for teachers in public or private schools, whether they choose to work full-time, as many young teachers do, or as part-time teachers employed by the board. The professor noted that possibilities of this kind are rare in many places.
The lecturer claims that because of the nation’s difficult economic situation, students now value job stability more than career prestige.
Prof. Nyonje stated that many employers now prefer recruiting teachers since they can be trained as mentors or peer developers.
He asserted that “many bankers will prefer getting a business and mathematics teacher on board” because they believe they can be highly useful in educating others and are also very adaptable.
He asserts that the modern labor market values skills, adaptability, and value addition. He thinks that in the current workplace, these characteristics will make people stand out.
The majority of students, according to Prof. Nyonje, may have realized this and are hurrying to enroll in educational programs even if they are qualified for alternative courses.
Keep in mind that anybody in society has the potential to become a teacher. If you have training as a teacher, the lecturer said, you may transition into any career, business, or even volunteer work.
The lecturer also attributed the growing student enrollment to recent changes in university education financing.
The administration claims that more students are enrolling in public universities who would previously have sought out various courses at private institutions.
Recent changes to education have led many students to seek refuge in public universities, as opposed to the past, when the government would continue to subsidize students attending private institutions.
According to the instructor, this action has led students to look for the nearby marketable degree that they are most likely to get accepted into. It turns out that many of them have decided to continue their education.
He stated that the significant number of new students who will enroll at the University of Nairobi in the fall of this year will be welcomed.