Nairobi — The quality of university education is in jeopardy unless steps are taken to reverse brain drain, a scholar says.

Kenyan universities will soon lose out to others in the region and in the world if issues of pay and working conditions for lecturers are not addressed, according to Prof Everett Standa, the chief executive officer of the Commission for Higher Education.

"Our universities are losing important staff because our conditions are not competitive on the world market," said the former Kenyatta University vice-chancellor at the close of a two-day workshop organised by the Higher Education Loans Board in Nakuru.

Speaking at the weekend, Prof Standa said university lecturers in Kenya were leaving in droves for greener pastures overseas and in other East African countries, where the pay is better.

And the exodus is not limited to lecturers alone as recent trends have seen students opting for Ugandan universities while many others go for further studies overseas in countries such as Australia, the United States and Britain.

Prof Standa described the trend as "very worrying".

He cited work overload and underpayment as some of the reasons why lecturers were leaving Kenyan universities to teach abroad.

"Nowadays a lecturer can't even relax in the evening and share a drink with colleagues and students as they discuss matters of the intellect due to overwork," said Prof Standa, who has taught at the University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University.

He welcomed parallel degree programmes, saying they offered more access to higher education.

They had, however, created new challenges in quality, he noted.

"Universities opening up new campuses should always hire new lecturers for the campuses so as not to overwork the lecturers." Prof Standa said it cost almost 50 per cent less to study in Uganda compared to Kenya.

He said the government had decided to extend loans to Kenyans studying in other East African countries.

While supporting universities' quest for increased government funding, Prof Standa urged the universities to plan beyond such funds to "support proper facilities and improve on quality".