We shouldn’t sacrifice merit for convenience

What you need to know:

  • Prof Mitulla seems to be unhappy with this, instead preferring that other considerations other than merit be adopted in appointments and promotions at the university.
  • If these considerations were so important, why did Prof Mitulla not object during the recruitment of the vice-chancellor, where there was a woman candidate — Prof Agnes Mwang’ombe, who also happens to come from a minority community — who obviously did not get the job?
  • Diluting the practice and expectation of meritocracy is lowering the bar and a flagrant betrayal of all that is valued as great, rational, and just by scholarship the world over.

Prof Winnie Mitulla’s opinion article, published in these pages on March 17, deserves a rejoinder, if only to correct misinformation regarding the ongoing recruitment of a deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Nairobi.

Prof Mitulla criticised university staff union officials for expressing their opinion regarding the recruitment of senior officials at the university.

The unions have consistently pushed for merit to be the overriding criterion in considering the appointment of top administrators.

Prof Mitulla seems to be unhappy with this, instead preferring that other considerations other than merit be adopted in appointments and promotions at the university. She listed these as gender, ethnic minorities, and physical disability and is willing to put her credibility on the line to oppose the meritocracy that the unionists are rightfully pursuing.

This is an interesting reversal of roles. Normally, academics cast their lot with merit. However, it should not come as such a big surprise these days, given the vested interests currently at play at universities. It is now not uncommon to find some respected professors trying to justify the unjustifiable.

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If these considerations were so important, why did Prof Mitulla not object during the recruitment of the vice-chancellor, where there was a woman candidate — Prof Agnes Mwang’ombe, who also happens to come from a minority community — who obviously did not get the job?

The point is that the University of Nairobi deserves to be managed by the best candidates available in Kenya, regardless of considerations such as gender, ethnic minority, and physical disability. The quality of that candidate is determined by the interviewing panel. Nobody should try to influence that process through arguments that undermine the right of expression.

It is true that affirmative action has been used as a form of reparation for minority and marginalised groups. In the context in question, however, it is difficult to argue that the ethnic community of one candidate has in the past persecuted or abused the ethnic community of another candidate. Affirmative action, while useful where it is justified, can only take this country so far. In any case, we are talking about the premier university that admits our best students, on the basis of merit, if I may add.

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The University of Nairobi is the largest repository of our best brains. Diluting the practice and expectation of meritocracy is lowering the bar and a flagrant betrayal of all that is valued as great, rational, and just by scholarship the world over. It is also a blatant attempt at the proverbial robbing Paul to give to Peter. It is akin to suggesting that we rob high-performing students of their top marks and give them to those who perform poorly and happen to come from minority communities.

In the Kenya of the 21st century, where university graduates can be found in nearly all communities, it is moot to argue that one community is more advantaged than its neighbour, as the term “advantage” is relative. If all we want is a university administrator from a minority community, then we should pick someone from those communities that are genuinely marginalised, or even endangered.

Dr Waweru is a senior lecturer, Department of Environmental & Biosystems Engineering, University of Nairobi. [email protected]