Kiambu Governor Ferdinard Waititu has called for a legislative move that will see JKUAT and KU lecturers hired by Kiambu MCAs.
Waititu says that as the situation stands, most of the current lecturers are non-locals.
I have my own misgivings about this.
For one, I think it is a populist move; Waititu wants to show the Kiambu electorate that he is a man who is always seeking for their betterment. Well, there is nothing wrong in a governor doing that because they are political electees whose main job is to see their electorate develop.
My worry is that employing only local people to work in institutions of higher learning will encourage tribalism and a feeling of prejudice. We will be balkanising the count.
At the same time, employment of lecturers should be based on one's merits, not their geographical origin. What if there are no qualified people in Kiambu to take up the jobs?
If Mcas are given the task to employ lecturers, they will employ every Tom, Dick and Harry who is their friend despite their being not qualified.
Sensitive issues such as education should not be devolved. We have already seen how bad it can get to devolve health. Let us not risk education for God's sake.