St Elizabeth Academy banks on new programme to enlist students in universities abroad

The St Elizabeth Academy has launched a new programme that will see students acquire direct entry to universities abroad.

The one-year International University Foundation programme will see students get entry to universities in the United Kingdom, USA, Australia the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Malta and Turkey.

The intake for its first cohort is ongoing.

“We are offering this programme starting this month. The International University Foundation Programme (IUFP) is a year full-time pre-degree course, which offers students a fast-track alternative entry route to the first year of degree courses in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Mauritius and Dubai,” said Ann Wanjiku Munene, the Director, of St Elizabeth Academy, Karen.

.

Keep Reading business

•  EABL toasts to 20pc half-year profit rise to Sh8.1b
•  Rural electrification is key to curbing migration to cities
•  How Kenya Power lit up Kenyans to Sh9.97 billion net profit
•  DeepSeek vs. ChatGPT fuels debate over AI building blocks
•  Kenya to lose tax revenue from US giant companies Premium

A foundation programme is a UK-inspired study course designed to fill the gap between your current qualification and knowledge and the level needed to be admitted to a Bachelor's or Master's degree at an international university. Foundation degrees, also known as preparation courses or pathways programmes, complement any knowledge or qualification that you might still be lacking after finishing high school.

They help students coming from different education systems around the world to align their qualifications to the education system of the country coming to and to become eligible for university admission.

“Foundation programmes don't usually award students an academic degree upon completion but guarantee a certain level of qualification that allows them to follow a higher education degree such as a Bachelor’s or Master’s programme,” Wanjiku explained.

Preparation courses are usually divided into three semesters, or phases, each with its own number of modules. Modules are split into minor (more generic) subjects and major ones, more specialised towards the student’s future career. Usually, students start their foundation degrees in September, graduating in time to start their Bachelor's or Master's in October, of the next year. The programme will have two intakes, one in January, and another in September.

Advocating for the programmes, the founder of the School has established branches in Mombasa, and an upcoming one in Nyahururu said the foundation programme is very useful when one has decided to study a degree in an international university but doesn’t have the required qualification to be admitted.

“The right foundation programme focuses on your particular interests, providing the best chance to become qualified for admission.”

Normally students are enlisted on the course after final exams in KCSE or IGCSE and are scheduled to attend forms five and six. This is a pathway for them because they will be exempted from taking the two years in high school and as such will only require one year of studying and passing the IUFP before proceeding abroad for their degree studies.

The International University Foundation programme helps students Advance their English-speaking skills to meet university admission requirements.

Besides, it helps reduce culture shocks experienced by students who travel abroad, as well as provides you with knowledge about all the paperwork and formal procedures you’ll need to go through to study and live abroad.

Students with at least C and above or British curriculum YR.11 are illegible.

Core subjects include Academic English, Study Skills, and IT skills, with accounting, business studies, Biology, chemistry, computing, economics, Government and politics, law, Mathematics and physics as elective courses.

Day scholars will part with Sh70,000 while boarders paying Sh90, 000 as fees.

“There are numerous advantages when students take this course. The opportunity to receive a UK pre-degree University foundation course within the parent’s reach and also enjoying fats track alternative to British Curriculum A-Level” explained Wanjiku.

She adds that “the students get to mature before flying out of the country to study abroad”

While faulting the current university admission criteria, Wanjiku said many Students leaving high school have no clue how to select courses that align with their grades, yet this forms the basis of placement to university.

The result is that students end up enduring four years or more of studying courses that are not in line with their interests and gaining skills that may not be in high demand in the current job market.

“A disturbingly high number of students end up taking courses they did not apply for. It is only after graduation that student realize the gross mismatch between their academic capabilities and skills required in the market, a situation fueling the already ballooning unemployment.”

Wanjuku, an economist turned teacher and a graduate of the University of Kent in the UK warns grave danger such situations cause to the economy if remedial measures to shape career paths are not taken.

According to data released by the Kenya Bureau of Statistics in the year 2020, youth aged between 20 and 29 years accounted for the employability rate which stood at 33.4 per cent. These are either university students or recent graduates.