Role of Tertiary education in empowering women for development - A case of the Kenya institute of management Mombasa branch

Abstract

The success of development efforts depends upon making women full partners. They must be enabled not only to contribute their efforts, but also to share equally in the benefits of development projects .. To be certain, tertiary education, by itself, is not a panacea, but it is necessary, if often insufficient, condition for the advancement of women and girls. It is in this that the journey out of poverty and towards employment and decision- making power begins. Providing the means through which such women can gain access to learning opportunities is a major task for national planner's intent upon improving the lot of women. (UNESCO, 1994). Education of women is a societal responsibility. All available resources should be harnessed to meet this challenge: those of non-government organizations and the private sector as well as those of government at all levels. Yet, without improved access to education, the advancement of women will be stymied. Improved knowledge and skills are necessary to enable women and their families to escape from poverty. Education is a prerequisite to most forms of remunerative employment, including self-employment. Hence, while education is not the only means by which the problem can be resolved, it is a vital and essential step in promoting the progress and well-being of women. The study tried to find out the role of tertiary education in empowering women in development a case study of the Kenya Institute of Management. The target populations were female students from Mombasa Branch. A total of 825 female students were used for the study. Both secondary and primary data were used; primary data was collected using questionnaire which were first tested to find out its validity and reliability. Simple random sampling method was used to get the students who were to fill the questionnaire in Mombasa branch. Once the data was collected, it was analyzed descriptive analysis to determine whether relevance of the course, mentorship, attachment policy and education scholarship contributes lllwarJ empowering women for development. All the respondents agreed that training is a key to empowering women for development. The female students also agreed that relevant courses provide the required skills and professions to individuals which enable them be competitive in the job market. They are also certain that mentorship will increase their professional skills and knowledge and improve the chances of job opportunities. The respondents agreed that through attachment they are given chance to put in practice the skills and knowledge they have acquired in real work experiences. This empowers them for development of the Nation. Also the respondents agreed that through sponsorship the less privileged women are able to access tertiary education which will equip them for development of the Nation. The study recommends that the Institute should make available mentorship and education sponsorship so that the students are aware of them and make use of them to empower them for development. The study recommends similar studies should be conducted to other tertiary Institution and Institution of higher education. Also a study should be carried out to see whether women occupy senior position in the organization after attaining the required skills and knowledge.