The Daily Nation has an interesting editorial in the 17.12.13 edition of the paper. (University conflicts can be solved amicably.) In the editorial, the paper calls for a change in the approach to conflict resolution by both the university administration(s) and the student representatives. This is a worthy call; it does not go far enough, though.
One of the aftershocks of the NARC victory in 2002 was to suddenly reopen the space for public discourse in public universities that had been overrun by zealous enforcers of a one-party mindset. The Moi regime is yet to undergo a rigorous assessment for what it did to stifle and snuff out public debate. Mwai Kibaki's on the other hand, must be credited with setting the stage for the reopening of this space, though without facing stiff opposition from those who were instrumental in directing the course and the pace of public debate during the period after 1977. University administrations, even after the 2003 Kibaki government took power, continued to, in the words of President Moi, fuata nyayo; They were loath to give students and faculty a free hand in public debate, fearing unknown adverse consequences from unmentioned quarters. (It is presumed that they feared dismissal or a reduction in financial allocations by the powers-that-were in the Office of the President or the Ministry of Education.)
That attitude has not abated; indeed, it could be argued that university administrations continue to pursue discourse-stifling tactics even today despite the overall constitutional objective of encouraging public discourse of matters of national and local importance. It is for this reason any a calls for a change in approach in conflict resolution by university administrations and students alike must consider that part of the reason why students violently and riotously take to the streets to express their opinions on matters that affects is that they have been denied the space and facilities to engage the university administration and the wider public in debate and argumentation. The venerable University of Nairobi's Taifa Hall is no longer the respected centre for intellectual debate that it was in the days of the first Kenyatta government. It has been relegated to the sidelines; debate nowadays is perpetuated in online forums that attract a very small slice of the intellectual pie. Needless to say, very little of online intellectual discourse by students or faculty is useful or credible.
Drastic changes have taken place in place of high learning. It is only the willfully blind who will deny that while enrollment numbers are up to an all time high, the quality of high learning has deteriorated. Even university faculties admit the same. Graduates of Kenya's universities, whether public or private, are facing increasingly stiff competition from graduates who studied overseas where the quality of high learning is continually improved. Universities have also come under increased financial pressure to cut costs and increase surpluses. Very little investment goes towards the expansion of public university facilities or the better remuneration of both academic and non-academic staff. Perish the thought that university administrators are even considering spending extra sums to ensure that students can express themselves fully and robustly.
The effect has been the compartmentalisation of the units that make up a successful university. The relationship between faculty and administrators is strained; the relationship between administrators and students is strained; the relationship between faculty and students is no more. Thus students see little irony in vandalising the meagre facilities they enjoy whenever they have a dispute with their university administrations, or treating their faculties with discourtesy or even hostility. It is all well and good to cal for a change of tact when resolving conflicts between the two; these changes will not accounts for more than a bucket of spit if the underlying systemic fissures are not sealed. Until students, administrators and faculties see themselves as partners, riots are set to make a violent comeback.
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