We must stem the slide of our universities into tribal enclaves

Kilemi Mwiria

Like in other sectors of our society, tribalism is becoming an issue of major concern in public universities as evidenced in staff recruitment and promotions, procurement contracts and student politics. We can trace this vice to the early 1970s when Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta by-passed more qualified candidates to hand pick Dr Josphat Karanja, who had limited university teaching and administrative experience, the first Kenyan Vice Chancellor of the University of Nairobi. Another Karanja was appointed University Registrar instead of the more qualified Dr Owako.

Both hailed from the President’s home district, Kiambu, as did Koinange, a diploma holder, appointed Principal of Kenya’s first university college, Kenyatta University College. The three did their job. They handpicked their tribesmen and cronies as deans of faculties, heads of departments and directors of institutes. Not surprisingly, even student politics became tribal as evidenced by the founding of a Gema branch at the University of Nairobi.

Under Moi’s reign as Chancellor of all public universities, tribalism in universities never ceased. Moi opened new public universities (Egerton, Moi and Kabarak), in his home region. From the 1980s to date, student politics became even more tribal with politicians invading universities to support candidates from their ethnic communities for student leadership. Some insist that members of their communities must head universities in their home areas.

I will not be surprised if some politicians insist that students enrolling in these universities all come from their respective local communities. I have expressed my bias to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology administration regarding headship of its newest constituent college, Meru University College of Technology (located in my constituency) that the new principal should be sought from any part of the world to promote a truly international centre of academic excellence. Tribalising management has denied universities the moral authority to claim to be custodians of meritocracy. Decisions on who is promoted, gets the opportunity for further education or overseas sabbaticals has much to do with the ethnic group of the head of department or director of institute. A first class degree is no longer a guarantee for selection for further training and university teaching. This trend has serious repercussions on the quality of university education as well as the impact of universities on national development and unity.

It is critically important that our universities are detribalised for quality education and national cohesiveness. President Kibaki set the pace by supporting competitive recruitment of vice chancellors, by relinquishing chancellorship of public universities, and by establishing new universities in locations outside his home region.

Competitive recruitment should go beyond vice chancellors and their deputies to include deans of faculties, heads of departments and directors of institutes. Relevant statutes should require that all senior university administrators be recruited from different regions and that student leadership should reflect our national diversity. New advertisements for these positions should bar locals from competing for top university administrative jobs because delocalisation of management is good for national unity. To attract the very best scholars internationally, remuneration has to be equally attractive.

Furthermore, we should continue the process of depoliticising universities by keeping politicians away from them. For a true national outlook, all new universities should be set up in parts of the country that have no such institutions.