Globalisation of University Programmes and Community Linkages: A Case of Two Kenyan Universities
Samson Rosana Ondigi

Abstract
The history of university education and training goes back to such varied roots and staid of development that it is impossible to present it in its entirety, with all its aspects, unless one is prepared to sacrifice its clarity in a single publication. The university in general is regarded as an educational hub that creates knowledge and skills necessary in promoting the socio-economic and political development of a nation. The more important questions that this study addressed were:[i] Why provide education and training, and [ii] How does this education and training best suit the global technological challenges and the future of the university student generation. Indeed, the programmes offered by universities must have a global perspective and a special connection with the communities around the world given today's technological know-how. This was a descriptive survey study on the system of university education and training in Kenya, the nature of their global programs, challenges experienced and influence on the socio- economic, political and cultural development of the communities. Two sets of respondents were targeted, that is, university lecturers and students in the public universities in Kenya. Questionnaire instruments were used to collect data from the respondents. The findings indicated that despite these undertakings, employers and more particularly industrialists have expressed reservations on the type of graduates from our universities, for some have very little information technology knowledge. Important to note is the rate of unemployment among the university graduates, which perhaps could be attributed to the nature of education obtained at school. The study therefore recommends that Kenyan Universities should be a leading example in assisting the government in producing manpower relevant to the socio-economic and political development of the country and course the entire world.

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