There has been a sustained erroneous narrative that attempts to portray universities as pure instruments of economic development, implicitly meant to teach for the market. This is a dangerous path that need to be called out.
The Education ministry comes off as an entity with short-term objectives. Whereas it is necessary for universities to contribute to economic and technological development, such a role is not sufficient.
We equally need humane, critical and inquisitive minds that can foster our social fabric and promote innovation.
Confining students to the prevailing expectations of industry stifles innovation and creativity, effectively producing automatons that are rendered obsolete when expectations shift.
After independence, for instance, some people trained for the then available opportunities only to face harsh unemployment once the few positions were filled up. Read more…
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