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Kenyans shun foreign MBAs for local courses

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Many local universities have designed flexible MBA courses that can be taken in the evenings, online or part-time. FILE

The expansion of local universities has seen the number of Kenyans sitting for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) remain flat over the last decade as learners choose to pursue post-graduate studies locally.

Statistics show that Kenyans have shunned the entry exam necessary to undertake graduate study in business schools abroad, choosing to pursue courses such as master of business administration (MBA) in Kenya.

The number of Kenyan students who took the GMAT grew marginally to 528 last year from 526 in 2012 — with a peak of 561 examinees in 2009 — according to data from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), owner of the standardised test.

GMAC disclosed that African students performed poorly in the test compared to counterparts from the US, Europe and Asia.

“GMAT examinees from virtually all African countries often score poorly on the GMAT exam. It is simply because they most often are less prepared,” said Ron Sibert, Africa director of business development at GMAC. “Interest in entrepreneurship is very high across Africa.”

Kenya is ranked fourth behind Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt in terms of number of students taking the exam.

The number of Kenyan public and private universities has more than tripled in the last five years to the current 67, with most designing flexible MBA courses that can be taken in the evenings, online or part-time.

READ: Is MBA degree beginning to lose its lustre?

This has seen tens of thousands of Kenyans enrol for the courses as they seek to go up the career ladder and manage their own businesses.

The Virginia-based exams agency says an average of 3,500 African students sit for the GMAT annually as a strategy to develop managerial and leadership skills to gain an edge at the workplace.

X N Iraki, the MBA co-ordinator at the University of Nairobi’s School of Business, blamed Kenya’s education system — which is heavy on rote learning — as well as culture and language differences for the poor performance in GMAT.

“Kenyans do not like aptitude tests because they go against the spirit of cramming,” said Dr Iraki.

The business lecturer argues that Kenyans’ sustained appetite for GMAT and foreign business degrees is because such qualifications are deemed superior when searching for a job or seeking promotions.

“Getting foreign credentials gives you an upper edge among multinationals. MBA is seen as a passport to better jobs and foreign credentials set you apart from the crowd,” Dr Iraki said in an interview.