Kisii University deputy vice-chancellor in charge of academics has challenged his fellow scholars to focus more on giving public lectures at all institutions of learning.
Addressing students at the university on Monday, Prof Maurice Amutabi lamented that many academicians preferred giving lectures outside the country, hence failing to motivate and encourage local talents.
Amutabi said the number of people interested in pursuing doctorate degrees has reduced drastically with many students ending their studies immediately after undergraduate degrees.
“I am concerned with the number of people Kenya is producing at the doctorate levels. We are having many of our students finalising their academics just after completing their first degree. I really blame academicians for failing to motivate students in form of public lectures,” he said.
The renowned academician urged the Ministry of Education and management of public universities to facilitate the exercise, besides asking academicians to grab his opportunities and motivate the young generation.
“We are aging and we need people to take over after us. The ministry and management of public universities should be ready to facilitate such programs so that we can be able to challenge our children to work hard and reach our levels,” he said.
He said the number of travelling professors had drastically reduced with few who were interested focusing on international calls.
“In our days, we had people likes Prof Ali Mazrui visiting and lecturing us. However, the situation is never the same again. Many of those who are active have abandoned local institutions and turned their focus on international institutions,” he added.