An assessment of sustainalibility practices in universties: a casestudy of selected universities in Kenya By Phaustine W. Khaoya Reg. No: A82/93621/2013

Introduction The idea of sustainability in higher education was first introduced at an international level by the United Nations UNESCO-UNEP International Environmental Education Programme in Sustainability is based on the simple principle that everything we need for our survival and well- being, either directly or indirectly depends on the natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can co-exist in harmony allowing fulfillment of social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations.

Sustainability is the ultimate goal or destination. It is a state of being of what is sustainable. For this to happen and achieve a state of environmental sustainability a framework or process is needed. Certain conditions have to be met and steps in the process towards sustainability have to be made. The framework of sustainable development is the means for achieving sustainability. Sustainability therefore refers to the goal and sustainable development is the path or framework to achieve it.

Literature review The Talloires Declaration France in which 22 University Presidents, Vice-Chancellors and Rectors met to discuss how Higher Education (HE) could contribute to an environmentally sustainable future. The conference asked participants to contemplate the role universities could play in working towards an environmentally sustainable future and what their individual This declaration came as a result of a conference held at the Tufts University European Centre in universities could accomplish in working towards this goal. Participants agreed that by practicing what it preaches, the university can both engage students in understanding the institutional metabolism of materials and activities and have them actively participate to minimize pollution and waste (ULSF, 1990).

The Halifax Declaration In December 1991, The Conference on University Action for SD was held in Halifax, Canada. Participants included university presidents, administrators, faculty, students and representatives from all levels of government in Canada, non-governmental organizations and the business community. The principal goal of the conference was to consider the role universities could play in improving the capacity of countries to address environment and development issues, and to discuss the implication that the Talloires Declaration had for the Canadian Universities. This resulted in the Halifax Declaration. This declaration echoed the Talloires Declaration sentiments emphasizing the moral obligation of University in environmental sustainability.

A university that promotes sustainability on its campus should have a clear vision and the commitment of management to sustainability. It should also have in place structures its framework for example a department or committee that provides the necessary resources required to achieve the sustainability vision (Alshuwaikhat et al. 2008).

Statement of the problem Although universities in Africa are signatories to a number of declarations and have put in place policy statements that emphasize sustainable development as a way of contributing to conservation and management of the environment in these institutions, it is regrettable to note that the majority have no concrete prescriptions at operational level of what they have in order to contribute to maximally to sustainable development. Universities’ core business include training through the academic programmes, research and consultancy. To achieve the core business of the university a lot of effort has been dedicated through planning, performance targets, schedules and financial budgets. It would be interesting to find out to what extent has the university directed its efforts towards addressing issues that contribute to sustainability.

Methodology 3.2 Research Design This is the overall plan or strategy for conducting the research. The two main strategies: qualitative and quantitative will be employed in this research. The survey research design will be used with the help of a questionnaire. Focus groups, discussions, key informants, interviews and observations will also be used to collect data. A content analysis will also be carried out to collect data from documents, reports. This will provide qualitative and quantitative data that will be analyzed. 3.3 Target population This study will be conducted in three public universities. It will consist of students, faculty members and staff in the universities. The government agencies that are responsible for environmental governance and management will be included in the research. This target population has been chosen because it gives a representation of what is found in most universities in Kenya.

3.4 Sample size The sample will consist of 374 respondents selected from three public universities out of the twenty-two public universities in Kenya. This will be distributed as follows: 120 students (40 from each university), 120 faculty members (40 out of each university) and 120 members of staff, non- teaching staff (40 from each university). At least 10 university managers will be interviewed, three from each university. Two environmental institutional managers from NEMA will be interviewed and two seniors officers from the concerned Ministry in the government. 3.5 Sampling Techniques The stratified sampling techniques will be employed in this study to identify the universities to be included in the research. Purposive sampling will be used to pick the students, faculty members and the staff members to be involved in the research in the university.

3.6 Data Collection Instruments The primary data will be collected from student, faculty members and members using open and close ended questionnaires. The questionnaires will address specific objectives and the research questions. According to Mugenda and Mugenda(1999), questionnaires is the most common method of obtaining important information about a population. In this study the research will use questionnaire to collect date from universities for the research. Interviews will be carried out with universities’ management to obtain relevant information on the research topic. Other important groups are the environmental agency and the concerned Ministry. Focus group discussions will be done to obtain data from groups like the environmental committee and departments responsible for environmental management in various institutions

Activity plan ActivityTime(Months)Dates( ) Development of proposal3June-August Development of research instruments and piloting 3September-October Data collection6November-April Data organization, analysis and interpretation 4May- August Report writing and submission 3September- November Defence and revision of thesis 3December-February Graduation-August 2016

Budget plan No.ItemDescriptionEstimated amount (Kshs.) 1Stationary20 photocopy sh. Per ream 5 flash shs 10 writing Printing per page for 600 pages Personnel10 field 100 per day for 30 days TrainingTraining of 1o field 1000 per day for 2 days Meals during sh.500 per person per day for 10 people for 2 days Materials for training-felt pens, biros, writing pads Travelling expensesCoordination fee Transport allowance for 10 field sh.300 for 30 days Computer1 pc sh Internet servicesInternet per day for 90 days 9000 sh.200 per day for 30 days for the 10 field assistants JournalsPurchase of at least 20 journal articles through internet at approximately sh Photocopy of thesis8 Per page for 300 pages for spiral and hard bound copies Spiral bond thesis8 sh. 150 per copy Hard bound thesis8 sh.200 per copy Miscellaneous