A student overwhelmed with homework. [Courtesy/GettyImages] Kenya faces a pressing crisis in its higher education system stemming from the staggeringly low completion rates for PhD and Master’s degrees. Many postgraduate students fail to graduate on time, according to the Commission for University Education (CUE). This is because many students remain trapped in academic limbo for years, sometimes up to a decade, due to inadequate supervision, funding shortages, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. This risks turning Kenya’s universities into factories of unfinished dreams, where systemic failures stifle potential rather than nurture transformative impact. Estimates show that around 70 per cent of students enrolled…