Universities shift academic staff towards computing as engineering, agriculture lose lecturers
A report by Kenya's Commission for University Education shows a significant shift in academic staffing toward computing and health-related disciplines. Conversely, traditional fields like engineering and agriculture are seeing a decline in lecturer numbers.
Why it matters
This trend indicates a strategic pivot in higher education to meet the growing demand for digital and medical skills in the Kenyan labor market.
University students in a lecture hall /AI ILLUSTRATION Kenyan universities are shifting more academic staffing towards computing and health-related disciplines as the number of lecturers in engineering, agriculture and mathematics and statistics declines, a new report by the Commission for University Education (CUE) shows.
The changes were recorded against an overall increase in academic staff from 15,383 in 2024 to 16,434 in 2025, representing growth of 1,051 staff, or about 6.8 per cent.
Computer Science recorded the largest increase among the academic domains tracked by CUE, rising from 346 staff in 2024 to 602 in 2025, a gain of 256 lecturers.
Medical Studies also recorded a significant increase, from 752 to 918 staff, while Social Sciences rose from 1,053 to 1,248.
Biological and related Sciences increased from 498 to 638, while Nursing grew from 325 to 460.
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