Financing of Higher Education in Kenya

The idea of a universal education system is criticized by many, because the idea of giving everyone a chance to prosper, has a detrimental effect on government resources; and the value placed on a post- secondary education, is somewhat diluted. This is wrong though, as people be judged on their academic skills, character and drive above their economic restrictions. The finances which a young person is born into, should not determine the life and career which they have. It has been shown that a college education increases a person’s earning power, but this education is contingent on money, which dictates your chance of achieving a recognized education. This is against the ‘education gospel’ which supports the idea that schooling should be for everyone, and that the more people who are educated, the less prejudices there will be in society. Education is universal, but post-secondary education, and one which leads people to positions of power and influence, is not. It is for the select few, of whom have the finances and opportunities to prosper that other, more underprivileged people do not, and that needs to change.

Expansion of education is closely related to idealistic views of democracy. In developing and wealthy nations, education is valued because it helps the individual mind to develop capabilities. In contrast, education has also been seen as a way to promote equality. Having access to public education, in theory, has the potential to reduce poverty and promote equality. If all are entitled to the same public education, not to mention they are required by law, why do school systems seem segregate their students? Researchers have searched for the answer and have theorized that economic background, tracking, and hidden curriculum are a few things that help contribute to the imaginary lines drawn between students in society.

Over the last 25 years many policies have been introduced in education. Some critic’s say that an education market has been created but others disagree and say that the policies have helped create equality of opportunity.

Higher education has a vast history; beginning in the early colonial period and spanning ten generations. With its wide range of history, aspects of higher education have changed as the ideals and reforms of society adjusted. Albeit, the missions and purposes of college have remained the same. In this paper, I will clarify the three main missions and purposes of higher education. Then, I will shift the focus of the paper to the area I would like to pursue in higher education and how it reflects those purposes.

Higher education has become a staple of American society. With over 20 million students attending over 4,500 degree granting institutions, the role that higher education has played on larger society is paramount (Thelin, 2017). However, despite the popularity of higher education institutions, the exact purpose of higher education has changed from century to century and may serve different purposes depending on who is asked. Higher education today is arguably both a public and private good. While state and federal governments have invested in a variety of higher education initiatives, as well as assisted thousands of students with attending college through loans and scholarships in hopes that students use their acquired skills and

In his article, Walter Ackerman discusses the historical evolution of Israeli educational system. He notes that there were several influential people charged with a reformation of the education system in Israel, namely John Dewey, Alexander Dushkin and Isaac Berkson. Although American with educational backgrounds rooted in the United States, their “ideas of social justice and social engineering” were widely

Although holding a degree doesn’t have muchpower as it did decades ago, people who have a bachelor’s degree earn twice as more than peoplewith a high school diploma. Most students do not have the capability of enduring four moreyears of college, and furthermore indicate that not everyone should be able to attend highereducation.Higher education is supposed to be considered an essential component of a democraticsociety. It is almost a rite of passage to seek college after high school graduation. Societynowadays requires basic analysis of finance, education, and public health in order to prosper inAmerica. But due to low demand of motivation for college, students are highly discouraged on

Is individual, spiritual, and academic growth the main purpose of receiving a higher education? Or has college become all about prestige, competition, and social hierarchy? Is the high cost of a higher education really worth the money? Initially education was believed to be an opportunity to prepare and develop individuals to reach their fullest potential and help, contribute, and promote equality and social advancement to a society. However, over the past decades, this idealistic view of a higher education has been distorted due to several factors, issues, trends, and conflicts that have impacted the cost, purpose, and definition of what education really provides students.

Degrees of Inequality: How the politics of higher education sabotaged the American Dream is a well-written and well-researched book that helps readers explore the intricacies of higher education policy while allowing them to discover how the policyscape has furthered inequality and enhanced classism in America (Mettler, 2014). The text itself is empirical in nature, and is the culmination of eight years-worth of mixed-methods research. According to the “Acknowledgement” and “Notes” sections of the book, Mettler, the researcher, author, and American Institutions professor at Cornell University, conducted interviews, document analyses, and statistical analyses for this study. Statistical graphs from sources like the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are embedded throughout the text along with a masterfully woven comprehensive history of higher education that not only supports Mettler’s data and arguments, but also enhances the book’s readability.

In “When Getting a College Degree Requires Self-Exile,” New York Times writer Zaina Afarat narrates the story of Ghada Tafesh. Tafesh is a Palestinian teenager from the Gaza Strip in the Middle East who comes to America to pursue her college career. At the cost of receiving her education in America, she could not return home to Gaza for six years to avoid losing her scholarships. In her home country, she was not exposed to the many opportunities that America showed her. Although Afarat remains neutral as she highlights the difficulties many Middle Eastern students face in pursuing higher education in their home country, I believe that more Americans should recognize and appreciate the privilege they have to receive higher education domestically.

In America, two-thirds of all high school students attend college or some form of higher education. Universities are meant to be purveyors of new knowledge, inspire innovation, drive regional growth, cultivate global competition, and makers of equal opportunities. Unfortunately, universities cannot fix income inequality on their own, nor can they force learning to take place. Worse, the emphasis that colleges put on personal benefits instead of public benefits put them as a creator of social and financial inequality instead of the solution for it. Accepted, while made over 10 years ago, still makes a commentary on this fatal flaw of education.

Academics regularly debate of whether the education system is meritocratic, which is a system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement. With this system hard work, ability and effort are rewarded so everyone who studies has an equal chance of success. This idea of meritocratic seems fair, you get rewarded on what effort you put in, but in modern societies, there are huge issues on inequality so a student’s educational attainment, could be heavily influenced by what class, gender or race they are.

The most important information in the article is that capitalism causes extremes in social economics. There are those that are very rich and those that are very poor. The poor then are left with unrest and desire for that which they do not have. Education will equip then with the tools they need to escape poverty and be able to coexist with those in other social extremes. "The founders of the modern US school system understood that the capitalist economy only produces great extreme of wealth and poverty of social elevation and degradation" (p.362). "Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great

According to Nielsen (2013), in the United States, the government has been working hard in the due process of providing education to the children in the country. Despite the efforts that have been initiated by the United States education department, there is a problem of equity in education access around the nation. There are a good number of students who do not have the same opportunities as others when it comes to the education sector. For instance, in most cases, the quality of education that a student will get depends with their social class in the community. Those with a weak living condition are less likely to have the same quality of education as those who belong to the wealthy families. Therefore, the importance of equity, issues with sameness and the strategies suggested by Natalie (2013) and the report by the equity and excellence commission will form the basis of discussion for this paper.

Higher education should be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. Professional and technical education should be made generally available.