KENYA: World class research needed

Every poor country wants a national airline, writes Professor Mammo Muchie in Business Daily Africa, but rarely do powerful people ruling these countries think of establishing world-class research universities.

Those in power fear the research process that produces knowledge with critical thinking, open scientific inquiry, innovation and creativity, the fearless search for truth; and conversely, those in the knowledge world find it tedious to deal with such restraining power to free scientific inquiry.

Muchie, from Aalborg University in Denmark, questions whether a university, which is a state organ, can ever truly develop into a world-class research institution. "These institutions are perceived and feared to be run by people not seen as able to show independence from state power, and indeed it seems to be often the case in many African countries."
Full report on the bdafrica.com site