Rethinking the Quality and Relevance of University Education in Kenya from Entrepreneurial Perspective

Many stakeholders have expressed concern about the many graduates from Kenyan universities who after qualifying, not only fail to get jobs but also fail to venture into alternative forms of engagement to earn their livelihood, a scenario that raises question as to the quality and relevance of University education they got. The concerns being raised calls for rethinking of the quality and relevance of university education in Kenya. This study, therefore, sought to investigate the propensity of university education in Kenya to inculcate entrepreneurial culture in graduates. The theory of planned behavior formed the theoretical foundation of the study. The study adopted a triangular design approach where views relating to entrepreneurial culture were sought from final year students from one public and one private university. The study targeted 3146 final year students drawn from University of Kabianga, (2272) and Kabarak University (874). From this, a sample of 614 students proportionately distributed among the two universities was drawn. Entrepreneurial environment was found to be more or less the same in both private and public universities recording moderate score. However, public university scored slightly higher. In conclusion, there is no significant difference in the levels of preference for entrepreneurship when comparison is made between public and private universities in Kenya. Arising from the current finding, the study recommends provision of better entrepreneurial support system. It will be preemptive to conclude that University education in Kenyan universities nature entrepreneurial culture Keywords: Entrepreneurial culture, Quality, relevance, University education DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-9-03 Publication date:March 31st 201

Status, distribution and determinants of poverty in the COMESA region: A review of existing knowledge

Poverty and vulnerability are among the major problems in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA). To design appropriate poverty reduction initiatives for the region, it is not only important to understand the distribution of poverty but also the determinants. Various reports have documented information on the status, distribution and determinants of poverty in each of the countries. Nonetheless, not much information has been documented in a form that is easily accessible to decision makers and planners involved in designing and implementing programmes for addressing poverty reduction and food insecurity at the regional level. This paper reviews the existing knowledge on the status, distribution and determinants of poverty in the ESA region to fill that knowledge gap. It emerges from the literature that poverty in the region differs across socio-economic groups and across space. The existing poverty maps suggests that most districts and provinces whose poverty rates are lower than the national averages are located in rain fed mixed crop–livestock systems and that the highest proportion of them are in the humid and sub humid systems. High poverty rates also occur in the livestock only systems. About half of the poor provinces and districts fall in areas with short growing periods; this affects their agricultural potential. The areas are also constrained by market access. Investment in irrigation, improved water management and improved market access would play a vital role in these regions. The review suggests that household level determinants of poverty in the region include, but are not limited to: household characteristics—family composition, size and structure, age and marital status of head, gender of the head, education and other human capital capabilities; access to basic services such as social amenities, water and sanitation, credit and infrastructure; employment, occupation and incomes; asset ownership; access to remittances; burden of disease; variations in agricultural production; and declining food stocks and high food prices. Community/regional/country level determinants include: geography and related factors such as market access, agro-ecological zones, climate and ethnicity; the environment; population density; area of residence (rural vs. urban); income, growth and inequality; conflict, insecurity and political instability; and governance and corruption. However, it is difficult to separate the determinants of community level poverty from the determinants at the household level. The review further suggests that the determinants of poverty are fairly robust across many COMESA countries. This suggests the need for a consultative approach to poverty reduction in the region

Drug resistant tuberculosis in Kenya: trends, characteristics and treatment outcomes, 2008 – 2016

Background: Drug resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health concern. Failure to treat patients with TB adequately increases the risk of transmission of infection to the general population. Treatment of DR TB is characterized by lengthy treatment duration, use of toxic and less effective drugs and high likelihood of adverse treatment outcomes that include adverse drug reactions, high mortality and loss to follow up.Objective: To determine the trends, characteristics and treatment outcomes of patients >15 years notified with DR‐TB in Kenya from 2008 to 2016Design: Retrospective descriptive cross‐sectional studySetting: Tuberculosis treatment centers in KenyaSubjects: Persons above 15 years notified with DR TBResults: We reviewed records of 1903 DR‐TB patients who were notified between 2008 and 2016. The public sector made the highest contribution of the notified cases (80%). Most of the cases were male (62.3%). The HIV testing rate was 99.5%, with the TB/HIV co‐infection being 36%. Initiation of antiretroviral therapy among those who tested positive for HIV was 94.6%. Co‐trimoxazole preventive therapy uptake was 99.3%. Most patients had secondary DRTB (77.3%). Multi‐drug resistant TB accounted for 78.4% of the DR TB cases while mono drug resistance was observed in 26% of the cases. Treatment success was achieved in 79% of the cases. Mortality and treatment failure during the study period was 11% and 0.2% respectively.Conclusion: An upward trend in notified DR‐TB cases was observed during the period under review. The public sector gave the most contribution. Active surveillance on patients lost to follow up while on treatment and poor drug adherence will be of importance to reduce the potential of development of drug resistance

Outcomes of Kenyan children under five years of age, initiated on isoniazid preventive therapy following exposure to bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis, 2013-2016

Background: Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) is one of the key interventions in achieving the End TB Strategy of 90% reduction in Tuberculosis (TB) incidence by 2030 compared with 2015. One of the key pillars in achieving this is preventive treatment of persons at high risk of contracting TB. This group includes children less than five years exposed to bacteriologically confirmed TB. Despite Kenya national IPT roll out in 2015, there still exists limited information on its programmatic coverage, outcomes and missed opportunities for initiation of IPT.Objective: To determine the coverage, outcomes and missed opportunities for initiation of IPT among children under-five years in contact with bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Kenya.Design: Cross sectional descriptive study.Setting: All the 47 counties in Kenya.Subjects: Children under-five years exposed to bacteriologically confirmed PTB initiated on IPT and notified between 2013 and 2016.Results: During the study period (2013-2016), a total of 6,507 children aged less than five years who were exposed to bacteriologically confirmed PTB were initiated on IPT. The number of children initiated on IPT increased from 721 in 2013 to 3306 in 2016.The number of counties notifying cases increased from 26 in 2013 to 47 in 2016. Treatment completion was 78%, 87% and 82% for 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. Of the 1390 children who had completed the 6 month-course of IPT during the study period, 9%had no TB, 7% were not accessed while84% had no documentation of outcomes by the end of the follow up period of 24 months. Missed opportunities for initiation of IPT reduced from 90% (7109) in 2013 to 60% (4872) in 2016.Conclusion: IPT coverage and completion rates have improved from 721 in 2013 to 3306 in 2016 and 78% in 2013 to 82% in 2015 respectively. Despite this, Kenya is yet to meet the targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Sustainable measures need to be put in place to achieve the WHO targets

Spatial and temporal distribution of notified tuberculosis cases in Nairobi County, Kenya, between 2012 and 2016

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of major public health concern globally. The disease has showed space‐time variations across settings. Spatial temporal assessment can be used to understand the distribution and variations of TB disease.Objective: To determine the spatial and temporal distribution of notified TB cases in Nairobi County, Kenya, between 2012 and 2016Design: A cross sectional studySetting: Nairobi County, KenyaSubjects: Tuberculosis cases notified in Tuberculosis Information for Basic Units from 2012 to 2016Results: A total of 70,505 cases of TB were notified in Nairobi County between 2012 and 2016, with male to female ratio of 3:2 and HIV coinfection rate of 38%.The temporal analysis showed a declining trend of the notified cases. The spatial clusters showed stability in most areas while others varied annually during the study period. The space‐time analysis also detected the four most likely clusters or hotspots. Cluster 1 which covered the informal settlements of Kibera, Kawangware and Kangemi with 4,011observed cases against 2,977expected notified TB cases(relative risk (RR) 1.37, p<0.001). Further, Cluster 2 covered Starehe and parts of Kamukunji, Mathare, Makadara, Kibra and Dagoretti North Constituencies (RR 1.93, p<0.001; observed and expected cases were 4,206 and 2,242, respectively.Conclusion: This study identified high TB case notifications, declining temporal trends and clustering of TB cases in Nairobi. Evidence of clustering of TB cases indicates the need for focused interventions in the hotspot areas. Strategies should be devised for continuous TB surveillance and evidence based decision making

Chemical Assessment and Antimicrobial Activity of Solvent Extracts from Kalanchoe densiflora

ABSTRACT Kalanchoe densiflora leaves were sequentially extracted using hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform, acetone and methanol. The solvents were evaporated through rotor evaporation under vacuum to yield five extracts. The extracts were then subjected to chemical and photochemical analyses to identify the components present and their functional groups. In addition the extracts were tested for antimicrobial activities against eight micro-organisms; Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The extracts were found to posses' tannins, saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids and cardiac glycosides. It was also found that unsaturated bonds, carboxyl groups and aldehydes were present in the extracts. In addition, the extracts showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillus spp, E. coli and P. aeruginosa as indicated by presence of zones of inhibition. Acetonic and methanolic extracts were sensitive to P. aeruginosa, Bacillus spp. and S. aureus while hexane extract was highly sensitive to E.coli. K. densiflora extracts was found to have broad antimicrobial effect since it was active against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Crude extracts from K. densiflora can be used in control of diseases such as; acute enteritis, pneumonias and opportunistic diseases amongst other diseases caused by these microorganisms

Mobile phones in the diffusion of knowledge and persistence in inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa

The success of inclusive development strategies in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda depends substantially on the adoption of common inclusive development policies among nations. Building on the relevance of a knowledge economy in the post-2015 development agenda, this study models the feasibility of common policies for inclusive human development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). More specifically, we investigate the complementary role of knowledge diffusion in the inclusive benefits of mobile phone penetration in SSA from 2000 to 2012 by employing the Generalised Method of Moments. Knowledge diffusion variables include educational quality, innovation and Internet penetration. The main finding is that inclusive human development is persistently conditional on mobile phones in knowledge diffusion. Moreover, countries with low levels of inclusive human development are catching-up their counterparts with higher development. Policy implications are discussed with particular emphasis on how to leverage common knowledge economy initiatives for inclusive developmen

Evaluation of Selected Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) Genotypes for Resistance to Insect Pest Complex in Dry Areas of North Rift Valley, Kenya

Pigeonpea is an important pulse crop that has gained importance in semi-arid tropics, although its yield potential has not been fully realized due to biotic and abiotic stresses that limit its production. Insect pest complex of pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera), sucking bug (Clavigralla tomentosicollis) and pod fly (Melanagromyza cholcosoma) are the major limiting factors to its production causing up to 100% yield loss. The objective of this study was to evaluate resistant genotypes to insect pest complex in dry parts of North Rift Valley Kenya. The study was carried out in three sites (Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization- Marigat, Agricultural Training Centre-Koibatek and Fluorspar-Chepsirei) for one season during long rain of April-November 2014 growing season. Sixteen ICRISAT elite genotypes were evaluated in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 75cm inter and 25 cm intra spacing. Significant (P≤0.05) differences in grain yield performance, incidence and severity of the insect pests were revealed in all sites. The damage was more severe in Marigat (Pod borer-37.2%, Sucking bug-39.3% and pod fly-5.9%) than ATC- Koibatek (Pod borer-1.9%, Sucking bug-8.4% and pod fly-5.9%) and Fluorspar (Pod borer-3.6%, Sucking bug-6.8% and pod fly-2.9%). Genotypes ICEAPs 00850R, 00902, 01541 and 1154-2 showed potential levels of resistance to the insect pest complex and high yields. Grain yield associated negatively (P≤0.05) with pod borer and sucking bug damage correlated non-significantly with pod fly damage. The potential genotypes identified in this study need to be further evaluated in two seasons and in other multi-locations to validate these findings to be used in breeding