Outsourcing in Kenyan Universities: An Examination of Challenges and Opportunities

The present paper unmasks the actual experiences of outsourcing of services in Kenyan public universities with the aim of outlining the challenges, opportunities and lessons for future outsourcing initiatives. It is based on primary data obtained from six public universities that were qualitative studied. Anchored on the decision theory (Jurison, 1995) and aspects of the risk theory (Bauer, 1967), the study’s key informants were interviewed and questionnaires were administered. The inquiry revealed that through outsourcing, the universities are able to cut costs, improve efficiency and meet their rising demands for greater accountability. The major challenges noted in outsourcing included negative attitude of staff, poor monitoring and evaluation, non-cooperation by students to the outsourced and interference by community. It is hoped that the findings will be beneficial to universities, particularly those that are considering outsourcing or broadening the range of such services