FORMATION OF A UNIVERSITY

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

Written by Maina Maringa

A university is defined simply as a place of universal knowledge; where knowledge is developed, disseminated and stored. It is a place where thought is allowed freedom to flow as it may, on the unknown waters that knowledge rides on as it progresses. It is a place where the purity of academic practice exists to protect knowledge and its value.

The universality of knowledge existent in a university demands that all therein apply themselves in broad manner to knowledge. Narrow minded pursuits of specific knowledge do not therefore have a place within a university. Neither do dictums and isms. A sojourn in a university is expected to impact this universality in character, action and thought. A properly constituted university creates a culture of inquiry, thought and continuous learning; characteristics that are critical in today’s world, where competition and growth are all predicated on knowledge and its proceeds.
 
Institutes of Technology deserve mention here as they represent the wing of tertiary education that translates the scientific theory emanating from universities to technology that is then brought to bear on society. Thus while the frontiers of knowledge are expanded within universities, technology is grown within institutes of technology. Neither of these two categories of institutions is more important in today’s world than the other, their roles being complimentary. It is it this complementary role however, that must be understood properly by government, industry, business, students and academic staff in order to make the institutions work for society and the individual as well.

Contrary to the demands by industry players over the past years, universities are not places to offer narrow education that is focused on specific industries. Rather they are places where systems of study and inquiry, as well as problem solving kills, are trained into students, who are also given broad enough exposure of knowledge in their respective disciplines; in order to ensure they can adapt to and thrive in various working environments and demands. Thus the utterance, “…given power to read”, on graduation of undergraduate students. It is expected that once faced by a problem in industry, a student trained this way will be able to research and investigate the problem, in order to develop a rational and acceptable solution to it. Such students are also expected to study their respective work environments in order to adopt and develop working systems that are best suited to each.

FORMING A UNIVERSITY
It is apparent therefore, that the process of forming a university is not an easy or routine task as many are want to imagine. It requires deliberate application in order to ensure the establishment of an environment where thought is given free rein, and one where knowledge can exist, grow and be transferred without restraint.

Following are a number of issues that require consideration in this process. The issues addressed here are not exhaustive but are helpful in working towards the goal.

The Name
What is in a name, other than a means of identifying a person or thing? Does a name give character and life to a person or thing?

Universities the world over have variously borne the names of individuals, places, and recently themes, or a combination of all for a varied number of reasons.

Persons may adopt mannerisms that are commensurate to the names they carry as a reaction to the attitudes and expectations of society or their own. Institutions may focus on certain areas of strength in pursuit of the name they bear. The names given to institutions may be arrived at in order to give them a focus on a desired goal. This latter one is very true in the world today and in particular here in Kenya, with the plethora of, “Institutes of Technology”, “Universities of Technology”, “Institutes of Agriculture”, “Institutes of Science and …”, and so on. While the names may keep focus on a desired goal from afar, it is not evident that they do actually purpose achievement of the goals.

At least not in the country and its environs, otherwise the nation and its environs would have industrialised a long time ago. This is not to say that the practice of adopting thematic names is wrong, but is more a statement of the limitations of implementers to achieve the desired goals. It is more a case of the dreamer stop at the dream without moving on to implementation. Clearly while a lot of thought must go into selecting a name for a university, much more deliberation must go into establishing systems and mechanisms of ensuring maximum and sustained value for the institution thus set up.

Justification
It is necessary at the onset to lay down a good justification for the setting up of a university. The best justification is a demand for a growing body of knowledge to serve the needs of society. At the lower end on the other hand, is the need to have degree holders in a country at various levels. The former establishes in the university, structures and systems for growth, storage and dissemination of knowledge; and by training and association duplicates the same in students. This then creates an interdependent system of needs and solutions that serves as the basis for intelligent existence and growth of society. The latter is of no value as it only serves to create dependence of the institution on others that are set correctly, and of the graduating students who do not internalise a proper understanding of the rudiments of development of knowledge and therefore its value. The extremities of these two outcomes is such that proper thought must be put into ensuring good justification exists before setting up a university.

The Best Physical Location for a University
This consideration is important as a university and the knowledge, it generates, stores and disseminates, targets a consumer market that is largely external to itself. This consumer market exists in the form of the incoming supply of students and staff, the outgoing flow of students, as well as businesses, industry and the public sector. The ideal location of a university must be one that eases access for all if not most of this market. Because of the natural aggregation of human beings and their various activities in urban centres, urban centres are a natural choice for setting up universities. The fact of their being hubs of modern services is an added incentive. However, because of the noise and visual pollution prevalent in urban centres, in addition to the shear preponderance of numbers, alternative locations that are easily accessible by the urban dwellers are more ideal. Such alternative locations provide quiet (a premium for universities, these being places of thought) and uncongested environments with a lot of land to expand. It is important to note that the rules in the country demand ownership at least 50 and 100 acres of land by any proponent private or public university, respectively, before charter can be given.

Political, social and economic reasons do also come into play. Universities have a lot of visibility and are symbols of esteem. They act as magnets for large numbers of people, thus serve as nuclei for aggregation of population with the attendant economic benefits. While these are bad reasons for setting up a university in any locality, they cannot be ignored or wished away, since the world is ruled by politics, social sensibilities, and economics.

The Primary and Secondary Source and Destination Markets
The primary and secondary source and destinations markets for a university must be clearly identified, and their character, volume and value to the institution all clearly established. This helps planning for facilities, staff and budget in terms of numbers, needs and paying capacity.

Primary markets may be broadly defined as those that occur within the immediate catchment area of the institution, while secondary markets then exist beyond. For instance in the case of emerging universities that are based in counties, the primary source market for support staff and students is the county. The secondary market for such institution occurs in the surrounding counties, the country, the region, and beyond.

At start up, planning should be done on the basis of the primary market in the country and the secondary market in the surrounding counties, for reasons of ownership of the institution and ease of access by the market. The wider secondary market may only be factored into planning once an institution establishes its name, as the commitment for students in this market is greater in terms of finances and dislocation.

Both the primary and secondary source markets serve both the members of staff and the incoming students.
Immediate and Long Term Financing of UniversitiesThe large capital required to get university institutions off the ground will normally require government funding at the onset. Even where land and buildings are available, the approach has been adopted in this country where the government underwrites capitation for such institutions.

A system must be adopted in the country in which all courses and programs are costed carefully and then submitted to government for vetting, and on to a third independent body; subject to whose approval then fees can be set. The financial support offered to students in public universities should then be based on this agreed upon fee.

Fees are a source of income is short term and insufficient to manage the affairs of a university. The long term, large financing for universities is always best obtained from industry, business and the public sector, that sponsor research and other programs that they expect will in turn generate benefits for them.

Another approach that works and which universities in the country and region must adopt is one where they treat each of their students as industry and business, and work towards their emergence as such while still at the university. If universities take on the responsibility of growing industry and business in their students, then they will this way establish long term linkages with growing industry and business, and serve their catchment areas well in growing real wealth.

Conclusion
Universities that are properly constituted and run are an integral part of any modern society that is knowledge based. Their establishment and management must be the result of carefully deliberation and planning in order to ensure they achieve the desired end. It is necessary to ensure that the structure of such institutions, appointment as well as sustenance in them is advised purely by their stated objectives, as well as quantifiable productivity. Focus must at all times be kept on their core terms of reference of developing, dissemination and preserving knowledge. A clear distinction must be created between institutes of technology and universities.

 
Maina Maringa, Ph.D., CEng & MIMechE
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Acting Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment
The Technical University of Kenya
7th March 2013