Contradiction of rich varsities running on empty

I spent most of last week listening to university professors describe some of the research work they have done and marvelled at the breadth of knowledge and innovation that local universities possess. Then on Friday, I read that our four top public universities are in the list of strategic but seriously ailing state corporations that the International Monetary Fund is squeezing the government to restructure.

Contradictory but hardly surprising. These are well-known facts, but it is when the two are juxtaposed that the grim irony fully emerges. The good news is that while short-tern solutions will inevitably be painful and disruptive, it is not too late to start reforming the thinking that has led us down this inglorious path.

An obvious starting point is to remember that our big universities need not be so severely cash-strapped that the Kenya Revenue Authority even contemplates freezing accounts because of unremitted statutory deductions like PAYE. This is an affliction that emerged once universities were abruptly disconnected from the Module 2 cash pipe when the large supply of self-sponsored students, many of who (as we now know) had dodgy examination results that allowed them to seek university entry.

Blinded by the short-term flow of cash, the university administrators stopped planning. They did not think long-term, some because they were not compelled to, others because they just could not. But with the shrinking of the Module 2 programme because all qualified students were being admitted as sponsored, the universities have been severely exposed. 

The dependence on government capitation is almost absolute, with little money being generated internally. 

The government will soon allow an adjustment in the fees being charged on the university students generally. It may even allow the full application of the differentiated unit costing that assumes that students pursuing courses that are relatively more expensive to run pay more, and their capitation contribution from government should be higher than for students in the less expensive courses.

But this will not be enough. Universities must become unashamedly entrepreneurial. Universities with strong technical and research foundations must exploit the potential they have among their faculties and post-graduate students.

During the discussions I alluded to earlier, we heard wonderful narratives of chemistry professors that had worked and were still working with students to create reagents used to make all sorts of products, including soaps, beauty products, etc. 

Powerful healing properties 

Others had discovered ways to improve our cassava crops to increase yields, while others had successfully conducted final trials on methods to improve our papaya fruits. This particular professor could not get the certification she needed from KEPHIS because she did not have the cash to pay them to certify her work and allow it to be rolled out for mass use. Professors in botany were researching very promising plants that had powerful healing properties.

Invariably, they cited lack of funds as the most formidable obstacle. Research funds were not forthcoming locally and many had to write proposals to raise funds from external sources, or collaborate with other better-funded researchers. This discourages those that are keen to pursue research and hopefully apply its findings to mass use.

The other obvious drawback was the very weak links that exist between industry and universities. This is not a new problem. Universities need to proactively engage industry if some of the promising innovations are to be picked up and tested commercially. Just as there are grants offices to manage the sourcing and use of the grants coming into universities, there should be industry liaison offices to track what research is going on, identifying the industries to align studies  with and actively proposing collaborations even from the research stage.

These weak links may account for the very subdued activity coming out of the technology hubs that sprang up in some universities a few years ago. 

A lot more innovations should be coming out of those centres than we are hearing.

The issue of registering IPs should not be as laborious as it is currently. Just as we have made it easy for foreign investors to do business in Kenya, we must make it easy for our innovators to protect their discoveries, and for the innovators and the universities to benefit.

These, and increasing funds for research at universities, are simple commonsensical ideas that surely can be appreciated even leaders doggedly focus on aberrations like holding referendums in times of a pandemic and crafting power-sharing formulae to guarantee tribal elites executive positions.

The writer is a former Editor-in-Chief of Nation Media Group and is now consulting. [email protected], @tmshindi