Physical facilities on students' participation in science and technology programmes in public universities in Kenya

Despite the government commitment to the implementation of admission policies like targeting enrolment of 50% of all students in science and technology related courses through placement of students into these programmes and significantly expanding them, only 29% of students were studying a course in Science and Technology by the year 2016. Such scenario implies that the country is seriously lagging behind in the realization of Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP I) participation target of 50%. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of physical facilities on students’ participation in these Programmes. The study employed descriptive survey design. Purposive sampling and simple random techniques were employed to select respondents. Questionnaires, interview schedules and structured observation schedules were utilized to collect data. Qualitative data was analysed thematically and reported in form of tables, quotations and narrations while quantitative data was analysed by use of frequencies, percentages, means, pie charts and bar graphs. It was established that inadequacy of physical facilities stood at 74%. The study concludes that Universities were experiencing acute shortage of facilities to the extent that they had not reached the minimum acceptable level. Practical elements in curriculum were extremely undermined and the curriculum was highly deficient, out-dated and irrelevant with little coordination between its designs and industries. Students were majorly grounded in theory at the expense of practical industrial training and transmission pedagogy dominated lecture halls, making learning largely passive. It recommends that Universities should formulate, adopt and implement University Industry Partnership and Placement (UIPP) policy to recognize the Universities’ science and technology study programmes as part of the industry chains