Appetite for wonder

If Kenya, with GDP lower than Pakistan, can mobilise resources at purely public sector university, then why can’t...

Ten years ago, Jomo Kenyatta University, a public-sector institution on the outskirts of Nairobi, was a different place. It was a typical university in a developing country, struggling to justify its existence, or the vision with which it was created at the time of independence.

The Kenyatta University of today does not resemble anything of its past. A statement comparing the past with the present about universities in a developing country typically means that the glory days were of yesteryear. But not so at Kenyatta. The sprawling, beautiful campus boasts modern facilities that are rare to see in public-sector institutions of the developing world. More striking than the beautiful campus and infrastructure was the palpable excitement among students and the faculty. There was a sense of wonder, a visible excitement about better things to come that was contagious. The collaboration between disparate units on campus, that often fight for control of fiefdoms, showed real promise.

The vision, created and championed largely by the vice-chancellor, Olive Mugenda, is shared and amplified many times over by the deans, department heads and even the young undergraduate students from far-flung villages of Kenya. The university is thinking beyond just education; it is focusing on research and the public-service sector, a model that is new to post-colonial Africa. The university, for example, is the first public-sector university in East Africa and among the very few public universities in the developing world that will own, operate and set the vision of teaching and referral hospitals. Academic models that are shaped by vision and impact, and not by colonial history and a stifling status quo, are being implemented. In the streets of Nairobi, among the bureaucracy and among the youth, there is now a buzz that something special, something exciting is going on at Kenyatta and even if they are not a part of it, they are absolutely proud of it.

There are two questions for us in Pakistan to ponder. First, why does such progress in Kenya matter to us and second, what is the special sauce here? Regarding the first question, it is time for some introspection, both personal and professional. We in Pakistan have somehow written off Africa largely due to our own ignorance and ingrained racism. Places like Kenyatta are a reminder that there is not only great promise there but also an active effort to bring that promise to reality. This should shake the foundations of our own prejudices. Second, if Kenya, with a GDP lower than that of Pakistan, can mobilise resources at a purely public sector university, then why can’t we?

Now, on to how are they doing it. The difference lies squarely in trust. There is trust among the university board and its overseers that they can give the reins of the institution to a dedicated faculty member who rose through the ranks. The vice-chancellor does not need to be imported from a foreign institution, or another domestic institution known for its discipline or be someone who has retired from the civil or military service. Trust, that a dynamic female leader, with the right credentials and vision, is as suited to run the institution as her male counterparts. How comfortable are we putting a female faculty, from within the system, as the head of our top institutions? Would we say that she is not strong enough to bring discipline? Or would we come up with another misogynistic excuse? VC Mugenda has not only made Kenyatta an exciting place to study, she has also made it easier for faculty, both men and women, who have young children, to engage with the university. The daycare centre, something of an anomaly in the developing world, allows young parents, whether they are students or staff, an opportunity to seek and share knowledge. And finally, there is trust that a university is a place capable of doing great things for the nation.

As I drove back to the Nairobi city centre, I asked myself, where are we, in Pakistan, putting our trust? Who will bring the big changes we need for a better tomorrow? I could not come up with an answer. In losing trust in our institutions, have we even lost our appetite to wonder?

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2015.

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