Educating Recordkeeping Professionals in Africa: The Case of Moi University, Kenya

Abstract

Moi University is one of the few universities in Africa that offer education and training in recordkeeping (i.e. records and archives management). The University, established in 1984, has eight faculties, two schools and two institutes. Among its faculties is the Faculty of Information Sciences (FIS), which was established in 1988. It has four teaching and research departments, namely Archives and Records Management (ARM), Publishing and the Booktrade (PBT), Library and Information Studies (LIS) and Information and Media Technology (IMT). The Faculty of Information Sciences offers a four year Bachelors degree (B.Sc.) in Information Sciences to cater for the education and training needs of the information industry within and outside Kenya. The programme is based on the concept of harmonization which was developed and promoted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 1974 onwards. Rosenberg notes that the harmonization concept is based on the premise that there are areas of knowledge and skills which can create a common basis for education and training of information professionals to allow graduates flexibility in their future careers. Consequently, the students admitted into the programme undertake core and common courses during the first, second and third years of study in LIS, ARM, PBT and IMT. During the fourth year of study, students have the option to specialize in any one of the four disciplines, including ARM. Since its establishment, the faculty remains one of the leading Information Science education and training institutions in Africa