African Woman and Child Feature Service

Engineering graduates from Kenya's public universities and technical colleges are finding it difficult to meet the demands of the job market as technologies and principles being used are lagging behind what is in the job market. This is making it difficult for them to keep pace with modern technologies, which are now a driving force in many industries and business outfits.

Lecturers and employers too, are getting frustrated that although the principles behind these technologies, especially those associated with electronics maybe similar, the ones in the market are more advanced.

Some employers in particular, are said to spend between Sh 300,000 and Sh 500,000 to retrain graduates on the modern technologies in use in their industries and businesses.

One of the frustrated lecturers at the University of Nairobi (UoN) described some of the technologies and their associated principles of operation as "archaic and belonging to the museum."

Most of the curriculum under use is based on technological principles of the late 80's and early 90's. Yet such principles have evolved to an extremely advanced stage.

Curriculum in the faculty of engineering for leading universities like UoN was last revised more than eight years ago, according to a senior official in the department of electrical engineering.

The official disclosed they are now worried this curriculum is not serving certain purposes and have therefore decided to revise it. The process of revision is expected to start in the next few months.

Electrical engineering students at the institution complained of using drawing papers to do certain sketches, when companies expect them to know how to use certain software to execute the same.

Availability of computers for such work is limited. Although the recommended ratio of student to computer is three students for every computer, the current ratio is between 15 to 20 students to one computer.

In the mechanical engineering department students claim their training is orientated towards motor manufacturing industry, when in reality such firms do not exist in Kenya.

However some students differed with their colleagues saying the training they receive is sufficient to enable them cope with the demands in the market.

At Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, the situation is equally worrying. Engineering students, for instance, are learning of principles used to operate a machine that is being phased out in the market.

Known as microprocessors Z-80 MP, the students say the principles behind the use of this technology are least preferred in the market.

Companies and business firms instead prefer Intel and Motorola 6,800 microprocessors, which are operated based on advanced principles.