Is planning for Coast varsity on course?

BY ABDILLAHI ALWAY

RECENTLY the Saudi Arabian government offered a little grant to start a university at the Coast. Reading from the latest Kenya’s government recommendations on improving higher education, I see several recommendations that appear confusing and what is in the works pertaining to the intended “Pwani University.”
I believe Coast province will get a fully fledged university soon. However, the recently recommended Pwani University College by the presidential commission on higher education as a constituent of another up-country university is unclear. The truth is this would have been confusing even if I was not in Washington DC. Either I am sensing a real disconnect in policy recommendations on this university or worse, there is a duping project underway by the government to swindle Coastals out of their university, again!
At the very least, by this time a law to create this university should have been established. We have the highest paid legislators in the whole Africa. I am saying this because these efforts started a long time ago. Knowing that the amount of money is not yet enough to build a university, a website and an aggressive fund-raising effort should have been underway to promote this new university and collect additional funds. Or, is the government planning to abort this university like what happened before?
Well, I will not be surprised if there is a major disclosure of bad news for the Coastals who are eagerly waiting for this university. It is even possible that our own leaders are confused with the little money that has been promised for this school and what to do from here. For example, do we know if Coast leaders are campaigning for a fully-fledged university for the region or are playing politics as usual? One billion shilling is not enough to begin construction of a university!
I will give the newly formed “Pwani University” planning committee the benefit of the doubt and praise their recent efforts and statements. But after waiting for over 40 years for this institution I have become very suspicious; even though I know there is money coming from Saudi Arabia and some promised by our own government.
Do you all remember the earlier debate about building a Coast university from scratch against the promotion of our local technical colleges into some kind of branches of up-country universities? I suspect that this discussion has been revived given the little amounts of funds and continuing discrimination of the Coastals. But let me update you on the debate that took place in 2005.
About two years ago, the Ministry of Education wanted to turn the Mombasa Polytechnic into a branch of the new Coast University. At one point, the debate centered on cultural conservation against the thrifty intentions of the education ministry. The Coastal communities were up in arms trying to halt the destruction of their historical sites in the face of an obvious strategy by the ministry to deny Coast people of their promised university. Clearly, the ministry wanted to cheaply improve the existing local institutions so as to silence the Coastals who were rightfully demanding a university of their own. And we almost took the bait.
Amazingly, the same ministry of education that excitedly informed us that funds would be availed to construct a brand new university for the Coast province was talking about cheaper alternatives aimed at promoting local technical colleges. At that time, the ministry successfully shifted the debate from establishing the university to a diversionary debate of whether or not we should turn our Mombasa Polytechnic into a university.
Luckily, the debate did not go far because the local MP, Hon. Najib Balala, was also the minister for national heritage who had the mandate of preserving our cultural wealth. Balala was also spearheading the demand for a coastal university. But, that was then. Now we have a billion shillings promise and leaders who are ready for action, or are they?
That the planning committee is in place is not a sure sign that anybody is serious or anything is going to happen. We have seen a hundred committees before whose reports have not even been published. We need a coast leadership that will remind this government that Coast’s educational aspirations are being trodden down for the convenience of the education policy leaders such as Minister George Saitoti. Coast people need to see consistent and firm commitment from the government

Kenya Times
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