By Ali M. Haji Daud

In an environment whereby nothing is as perfect as it should be, it may sound outlandish to look for perfection in anything you see or care. This short, down to earth statement is an ideal description of the University of Hargeisa (UOH)- a higher learning institution set up for producing professional cadres with aspirations to become the leaders of tomorrow, but, unfortunately, succumbed to the temptations of the present-day reality, which reflects staleness in the leadership at state level. In other words, it has become a microcosm of a larger environment that is rife with inertia, corruption, mismanagement, dereliction of responsibility, cronyism, hypocrisy weak leadership, etc.

If the two-word term “bad luck” could ever be used to perfectly describe an existing situation, it would fit accurately the one that UOH has been in throughout its short history.

Since its establishment in 1998, it has been lurching from crisis to crisis. As each crisis emerged, fire-fighters ready to extinguish it were within reach. Though no attempts to address the root causes have been made during the fire-fighting exercises, yet UOH was spared from the skulduggery that the opposing sides were involved.

There were at least four crises that UOH has encountered in its short history. All had something to do with governance, that is, who has the right to govern UOH- the Founders, serving as the Council, or the Management Team, appointed or approved by the Council.

The Troika and their Miscalculations.

The first three crises had bad endings for the then Management Teams, particularly the Vice-Chancellors who were forced to clear their desks, pack up and go whereas the last and the most recent one (2006) the situation was quite different; the Management Team (Current) has prevailed and emerged triumphant over the unassailable founders because of the following factors:

1. The crisis management committee, comprising of mostly Government-appointed individuals, openly siding with the Management Team (Current) along with their insincere recommendation that UOH would never be better off without these guys being at the helm.
2. The annulment of the Audit Report produced by the independent audit firm, which was supplanted by a favourable report from the office of the Auditor-General.
3. The branding of certain founding members of being loyal to Kulmiye political party, etc., - a clear breach against the premise that Universities are above the political fray.

For those who were closely watching the situation, the way this crisis was handled appeared unfair and nothing of substance except that it afforded free rein or a blank check to those the committee was meant to stop in their tracks before they could commit other major blunders.

Moreover, the decision to let the Management Team (Current) remain at the helm also left UOH without a council to oversee the performance of the MT.

But for the winning MT, the rejoicings following their triumph have never receded until today because what would cause these rejoicings to cease does no longer exist: the Council that would keep them in check if they try to commit impropriety.

However, the absence of such an important body, the Council, is a boon for people with evil intents and disadvantage for those others but with good intents. The current UOH MT, known as the Trio- The Chancellor, The Vice-Chancellor for Administration and his Deputy-, chose to be categorized as the former, for if the case were not so, they would have assisted in the installation of a council to replace the disbanded one.

As the situation looks, UOH is suffering from the uncaring attitude of the current MT not being in the mood of seeing through UOH elevating to a level on par with other similar educational institutions in Africa in terms of quality education. Such a mode of thinking is not present on the part of the current MT other than engaging in money- making schemes.

In the following paragraphs, I would like to identify the existing deficiencies and/or improprieties in the areas critical to the UOH operations that could have been rectified and/or prevented from happening if the current MT, the Trio, were sincere in their acts or a council were in place:

1. Academic Affairs:

a. Orientation Sessions:

Like other universities, the moment a new student is admitted he/she undergoes orientation sessions whereby he/she is lectured on how the university system operates, the kind of behaviour he/she is to adapt, the number of courses he/she should take during each semester; core, prerequisite and optional courses, term papers, etc.

However, UOH does not have a program to orientate the students to the desired behaviours upon admission in place. And, surprisingly no attempts to do so have ever been made, as there are experienced former university lecturers to assist UOH in this area around.

The lack of such sessions to orientate the students to the desired behaviours continued to have adverse effects on the UOH education programs until today. Students keep sailing on uncharted waters up to their destinations. In other words, they get on with their studies without knowing what courses they would take next semester, and with that uncertainty there comes the graduation ceremony on the horizon.

b. Curricula

UOH adopts standardized curricula for each field of study. These curricula are static and never undergo any review just to keep pace with the changing environment. In the academic arena, changes occur frequently and the need to catch up with them is highly indispensable.

Despite these, the number of credit hours allotted to courses in the curricula for each field of study regardless of their status: core, required or optional is uniform (3 Credit hours). The status of a course usually determines how many credit hours such a course should have.

c. Classroom Environment

Apart from the original design of the buildings, UOH appears to be overstretched in terms of finding space for the students (over a thousand) who are currently pursuing their studies, as the number of classrooms available could not fit or accommodate the current number of students.

This shows that the current MT do not take into account the number of Classrooms available when admitting new students.

What is more annoying to any observer like me is the lousy quality of the furniture (chairs, desks, etc.) in UOH Classrooms. I was told that these chairs, desks, etc., are among the first shipment of materials that Somalilanders in the Diaspora have donated to UOH at the start. So, no new materials of this kind have ever been added to the current stock.

Generally, UOH operates a mass education system whereby the admission criteria are too flexible to preclude enrolees with poor grade (D) in their GCEs and those with fake certificates from being admitted.

2. UOH Resources Management

a. UOH Property

Since its establishment, UOH has been reliant on outside sources for all the things that it needs for continuing its operations. Somaliland Forum, UNDP, Individuals, etc., were the major patrons who continually bankrolled UOH operations

Apart from few vehicles, no major procurement financed from UOH funds has taken place though financially it is strong to make the necessary procurements such as desks, chairs, etc. For instance, UOH still uses the desks and chairs that were brought first when it opened its doors as mentioned earlier. Their conditions are abominable in that they are eye- sore and unfit to an educational setting, particularly in a higher learning institution.

Moreover, the entire campus, which hosts such a large number of students, staff and administrators, lacks basic facilities such as latrines, and yet the finishing touches of a canteen for the students and staff to dine while in campus is in progress. In fact, an attempt to rehabilitate the existing, but out of order, latrines was made, and unfortunately days after being finished they crumpled because of poor design and workmanship.

The canteen that is being completed is meant to serve food, drinks to students, staff members etc. It is intended to operate as a revenue-generating source for UOH. The idea of setting up a canteen in the campus is pretty fine, yet it masks the fact that the would-be major client, the students, would never be able to spare a dime for a snack or drinks given that they are struggling with the payment of tuition fees. This fact makes the canteen neither economically viable nor a priority knowing that the money spent on it would never be a waste if it were diverted to the construction of latrines and the procurement of school furniture, which are on top of the priority list at present.

Furthermore, the decision to maintain the canteen is a proof that the Trio and their Accomplices have no concern for the unhygienic effects that lack of latrines may cause to the UOH students, staff and the communities living in its environs other than lining their pockets by committing funds to “White Elephant” projects.

UOH uses vehicles for its transportation needs. Apart from those marked with UOH emblem, there are others believed to be UOH property that are unmarked and being driven around by two of the Trio. Among these include a Suzuki, a Mark II, etc., with the latter said to have been sold to UOH by its current user, who owned it prior to the sale. They are locally procured with UOH moneys and they ought to be marked with UOH emblem to distinguish them from privately- owned ones.

b. Staffing

UOH employs a good number of personnel who are assigned to the various departments that it is made up. They are all salaried staff with no definite grades to base their rate of payment. In spite of those who earn it in the old-fashioned way, there are others who are on the payroll and are at large, each drawing a salary in the region of $400-900 for nothing; these guys show up when the pay is due. Hardly a month lapses without having two or three guys whose recruitments are based on the whims of the Trio added to the payroll.

In the employ of UOH includes a politician, a consulting engineer, masons, labourers, etc. What the heck are these guys doing in the University?

c. Construction/Service Contracts

UOH seeks the services of contractors for activities relating to construction, procurement and services. The way these activities are handled is characterized as obscure and non-transparent, for there are activities whose contracts have been awarded to people having close relations with the Trio without following the normal bidding procedures whereby contracts are awarded to those who comply the requirements to the satisfaction of the issuing organization.

A case in point is the ongoing construction of a block in the campus financed by the Islamic Bank. It was awarded to a local construction company in which the Trio is said to have some stakes. The Consulting Engineer who recommended this company is in the employ of UOH and at the same time a partner in the company. Can we say this contract was handled fairly and in a manner that suits the normal bidding procedures that every institution, governmental and non-governmental, should abide by? Obviously, the Answer is NO.

Evidently, these deficiencies and improprieties stem from the fact that UOH lacks the council that would rein them in. And, it appears that as the situation looks the Trio and their accomplices have gone too far and need to be stopped in their tracks so that no major blunders should occur. UOH is not in a position to absorb these extravagances that the Trio and their Accomplices are indulging in with great gusto and with impunity.

However, this act to deprive UOH of the right to be governed properly through the establishment of a council representing the stakeholders by the Trio and their accomplices appears to have paid off in their favour as the anomalies listed above represent the benefits that the Trio appears to have accrued as a result:

One cannot imagine the financial implication of these improprieties to an institution as infant as UOH, which if it is allowed to continue would catapult UOH to a deadly collapse with no possibility of resuscitation.

Regrettably, the situation is so serious that it demands immediate action to ensure that UOH survives. To do so, UOH stakeholders- the Government, Founders, Lecturers, Students and Friends- should come together to map out the strategy by which the current situation be reversed, which would entail: a) the appointment of a new team to replace the current one whose presence has proven a liability to UOH because they are allegedly implicated with abuses of their offices, misuses of resources for personal gains, etc., collectively, and b) the installation of a new council to oversee the newly-appointed team.

In my personal opinion, nothing short of convincing the Trio that the most opportune time has come for them to clear their desks, pack up and go, as their predecessors did will guarantee the survival of UOH. Enough is enough!

With this caveat, I would conclude my article that it takes courage to salvage a sinking ship and UOH is no different given the circumstances surrounding it at its peril.

Ali M. Haji Daud

Hargeysa, Somaliland