Tasks and training needs of University administrators

Abstract

When Kenya achieved its Independence in 1963, it had only one University College to serve the entire nation and it had an enrolment of 565 undergraduates and 6 postgraduates (Kamunge, 1988). It was in this context that four national universities have since been established between 1970 and 1987 with the enrolment shooting up to 18,883 undergraduates and 1,934 postgraduates. The contributing factors to this dramatic expansion are many but four of them will be examined in Chapter III. Their implications for the management and administration of the universities are also discussed in the same chapter. However, the study begins with an examination of the management and administrative structure of the university with particular reference to the University of Nairobi from where most of the examples are drawn, basically because of its multi-campus system which is unique in the country. A historical background of university education in Kenya and the role of the university officers are also discussed to give the reader a picture of what necessitates the need for effective administration to meet the problems of size and complexity. This has been done •by: 1) discussing an overview of the management and administrative structure of the university; 2) looking at the roles of university officers and how those roles have changed:-Bdee(result of the.rapid increase in size and the complexities of the university education system; 3) examining in de.tail the possible approaches to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the university administration; - iii- 4) looking at the training and development of university administrators. This includes the role of staff appraisal as one way of identifying staff development needs and concludes with practical suggestions for the introduction of a systematic staff appraisal and staff development programme. The scope of this study is limited to the tasks and training needs of the 'pure' or career administrators but it also discusses in brief the needs of those administrators from the academic ranks who combine both academic work and administration because what they do does affect the running of the institution.