By Kevin Motaroki
An exposé done through an undercover investigation by NTV in February, which showed how an unqualified person enrolled at an institution buy, for a few thousand shillings, a diploma and transcripts for an Aeronautical Engineering bearing the college’s name without attending a single class, called into question the quality of certificates the college – and others – awards.
But what was disturbing was the reaction of the college’s administrators. A senior official was quoted in the dailies as saying: “The exposé was malicious, driven by competitive environment and without following the basic tenets of responsible journalism… from the start, it was about colleges and universities but the reporter subjectively narrowed down to Nairobi Aviation College…”
It gets better. Despite admitting that the college offered aviation courses despite not being a Kenya Civil Aviation Authority-approved training organisation, he maintained that their operations were legal – how that is despite the fact that the course offered is not sanctioned by the one body that should beats logic.
It has been said that the biggest problem with Kenya’s education system is that it fails in producing quality graduates. That expose by NTV demonstrated as much. But if Kenyans have a love relationship with shortcuts towards certification, it is not just about cash transactions. One other aspect of this easy-lucky-go phenomenon is online certification.
Just so there are no misunderstanding, the idea of online degrees is not a bad one… entirely. After all, these “online institutions” do offer millions of students, who would otherwise not get the opportunity, a chance to get certified (I hesitate to say educated). However, what most of these so-called institutions – what could be properly referred to as “diploma/degree mills” – do is sell pieces of paper rather than the educational experience. Diploma mills, which often promise fast degrees based on “life and work experience”, dole out fake certificates to anyone who pays the requested “tuition fees”.
To most, how a degree is obtained makes no difference. But to others, the method through which a certificate is obtained raises issues of trust, lack of reputation and familiarity. Simply put, the name of the college and the type of degree you have is a matter of interest to most employers. Discovering the shallowness of online degrees, there are those firms which, when placing advertise for placement, include a “no online degree” clause. The argument is that most of those with online certificates hardly know anything about what they say they have read. Hiring them is a gamble employers would rather not take.
Sanjeev Singh, who owns a chemicals company in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, reckons it is an unwise gamble to employ a person with what he calls questionable credentials.
“The determining question, in my opinion is, if many of those who go through the traditional method don’t even make the cut for the job market, how feasible is it that someone who has gone through an online degree will? It makes very little sense.”
Some employers, however, don’t bother to check if a prospective employee obtained a degree online or through the traditional classroom method; to them, any degree is a good degree. And for those who do, they use that knowledge to negotiate employment terms in disfavour of the employee. On a personal basis, however, first online degrees add very little intellectually to one.
Patrick Mutisya is a senior human resource consultant with Manpower Services Kenya, which deals with managing, training and recruiting for organisations. According to him, while trends might be changing in favour of online graduates globally, Africa, and Kenya in particular, has been slow in catching on.
“A good number of employers express preference for candidates from particular institutions. I think it is a matter of tradition; if employees from particular universities or colleges deliver well, employers tend to develop biases for those institutions. This is not to say that candidates from different universities don’t do well. It is a matter of culture,” says Mutisya.
He goes on to reveal that grounding – what employers/interviewers refer to as “silent aspects” – is an important factor when it comes to placement. These include keenness on trends, personality, age and practicality/problem-solving abilities.
Says Mutisya: “Most (online) institutions which offer online degree courses do so out of the need to respond to emerging technological needs. Very few do so out of the genuine need to educate, and even fewer make the requisite follow-up to ensure students benefit fully from the requirements of the programmes on offer.”
“Feedback is an important part of our services, and sometimes there are complaints when employers notice skills gaps. Our research shows that the problem may not be just about taking online courses, but can be traced back to primary school. Most of people in the labour market are those who have been grilled to pass, and therefore their forte is cramming and stating facts. Those who do well are those who learn to be problem solvers from an early age. Whether someone opts to get a degree the traditional way or online says a lot about their work ethics and inclination to perform.”
The fees requirement – in some instances the grades needed to qualify – for online learning is a little less demanding than that of conventional learning. This idea, therefore, has solved the tuition question, especially for expensive courses. But in offering online learning for a few genuinely site-bound students, universities are also promoting indolence in many others who should compete face-to-face with the best academic minds on campus.
Daisy Miller runs an export company, and says she has had to terminate the contracts of a few of her employees over the seven years she has operated in Kenya because of “glaring job gaps” in their performance. While she does not attribute this to online education, she urges caution when taking in personnel, especially for technical jobs.
“It cannot be disputed that there is a genuine need to make university education accessible to as many people as possible. This is especially important in Kenya and Africa, where there are only so many students that our institutions of higher learning can accommodate. I have been an academician myself for some time, and I endorse the idea of easing the process of acquiring education. But, to a large extent, what matters most is revenue – what the institutions can get in tuition fees – and thus the higher the number of enrolling students, the merrier,” says Daisy.
“There are some areas where the execution of the learning process should just not be compromised, such as courses in engineering, medicine and education,” she says, adding: “Getting your masters degree online makes better sense because you’d have had the necessary grounding to both make that choice, and get value out of an online programme. Getting verified grounding in the formative years of higher education helps not just with skills but also with self knowledge.”
However, there are those who feel that web-based course are just as good as those taught in physical institutions, and that competence after graduation is a matter of perception.
“Online degrees have become as acceptable as traditional ones. But, accreditation is vital. To a large extent, it depends on the degree or type of career you are pursuing. For example, teachers, nurses and some higher level leadership positions business may still have some stigma attached to the online programmes. But then, many traditional campus schools offer online classes as part of their degree programmes so, often, it does not really matter to the hiring company how a degree was earned,” quips Weldon Okiambe, a lecturer.
Online advantage
Those who support online education cite quite some compelling reasons. Says Salim Yusuf, a volunteer with the Red Cross: “If you are in a situation where college/university education is tough to make happen, owing to job, family considerations, then online is certainly a great alternative. Personally, I try to make it as “real world” as possible, through interacting with and networking with students and other academics, to make it a meaningful experience.”
For yet others, the institution only matters if you are hiring a new college graduate, in which case a degree from a traditional institution may be more highly regarded than one from an online institution. But if someone has been working for more than a few years, the “from where” starts to lose meaning. Of much more interest is in what one has done lately – accomplishments, responsibilities held and how successful one has been in meeting them? A question many employers are also interested in is whether one has kept on training since completing one’s formal education.
“There are still some old school people who don’t understand online colleges. I know that while most companies require a degree, they will at least accept the degree and let you prove everything else. Not all recruiters will hold it against you just because you schooled online. In any case, I expect that students who read online ought to be more disciplined because they learn to ‘find out’ for themselves from a very early age,” says Joan, who is pursuing an online course through Kenyatta University’s Digital School of Virtual and Open Learning.
She goes on: “I think that the stigma of an online degree is mostly directed to “for profit schools”, which are very well known. I would advise learners to thoroughly research the school one wishes to attend and ensure it is fully accredited, and that the degree sought actually corresponds to one’s intended career. I would also suggest enrolling in a school with physical presence as well. It helps.”
Mutisya concludes: “It does matter to me where the degree is from, because there are numerous “for profit” online universities which produce not even half-baked but raw graduates. I like for someone to make a full commitment in earning their degree; it shows they will be committed to their work. Actually going to school gives a candidate the edge in my book. But if the programme is accredited by a recognised organisation or government institution, I would consider a candidate. All in all, I heavily lean towards the “brick and mortar” universities.”
