Campuses without questions

In a country battling economic uncertainty and political polarisation, one of the most silent yet devastating crises is unfolding within the very institutions tasked with building our future: our universities.

As a faculty member at a public sector university, I do not write this as an outsider or a detached critic. I write as a witness to slow erosion, not of infrastructure alone, but of intellectual life. Our campuses, once imagined as spaces for dialogue, creativity and inquiry, are increasingly being reduced to echo chambers of compliance, guarded by invisible fences of fear and bureaucracy.

Take one telling example: the ban on student unions. It has been in place for decades; and while successive governments have occasionally promised restoration, the ban persists in practice, if not in name. The result? A generation of students whose political awareness is shaped not by debates, elections and exposure to differing worldviews, but by hashtags and algorithm-driven rage. We have replaced student leaders with "followers", and civic engagement with curated content.

And it doesn't stop at students. Academic freedom for faculty members is no longer a given, even in public universities which should, in principle, be centres of independent thought. Hiring decisions are often shaped by informal political influence. Critical perspectives — whether in social sciences, natural sciences, or even literature — are quietly discouraged. The incentive structure is built not around original research or pedagogical innovation, but around administrative obedience, hollow metrics and survival.

In meetings, I've seen brilliant research proposals sidelined because they might appear "sensitive". I've seen young faculty discouraged from interdisciplinary work because "it doesn't fit the HEC format." I've seen students hesitate to ask questions in class, fearful of appearing confrontational. We are raising a generation to be risk-averse, not intellectually curious. We say we want innovation, but we punish imagination.

This is not merely an academic concern but a national one. Universities are the testing grounds of democracy, where difference of opinion is not a threat but strength. When that space shrinks, so does our capacity as a nation to think critically, plan wisely, or engage globally.

We often complain about the "brain drain", watching our best students and young scholars seek opportunities abroad. But do we ask what we've done to make them stay? When was the last time we prioritised research funding over road repair? Or protected a teacher facing threats for speaking truth to power? Or demanded that university leadership be selected for merit, not proximity to political influence?

What's more concerning is that we are internalising the decay. We no longer expect better. We joke about paperwork killing creativity. We celebrate hollow reforms. We quote "budget constraints" like fate, never challenging the choices that create them. A nation that fails to value thought will inevitably be led by slogans.

This is not a call to cynicism. It is a plea for urgency. We must reclaim our universities as spaces of critical engagement. Student unions should be revived, not for political point-scoring, but to nurture future leaders. Faculty appointments must be based on transparent, competitive processes. Research should be funded not as a formality, but as a national investment. And most importantly, we must end the unspoken culture of fear that has crept into our classrooms and common rooms.

A university is not merely a place that grants degrees; it is the heart of a nation's intellectual life i.e. a space where minds learn to think critically, to question deeply, and to dream boldly. When that space is compromised, the very future of the nation is put at risk.

We must remember: the purpose of education is not to produce unquestioning, obedient citizens, but to nurture thoughtful, inquisitive individuals. Our goal is to cultivate scholars, to nurture ideas, not just follow instructions. The true strength of a nation lies in the minds it dares to liberate.