The University Quota system

I have read sentimental comments on both nyasanet and malawitalk in relation to the announcement that the University of Malawi will invoke the quota system of selecting freshmen to University. The selection criteria was abandoned some few years back for it was perceived to be discriminatory. There is a court determination to this effect (the dictum in this case would be pursuassive against the quota system)
I am against the policy. Some people think that those of us that are against this policy are doing so because:

(a) we come from the North and that,
(b)Northerners take themselves to be more intelligent than people from other regions

To begin with, my being against the idea of restricting University selection based on number of places allocated per district has nothing to do with where I come from. It is purely bourne out of the view that a candidate who scores well at MSCE should not be victimised based on where they come from.

Kamuzu Banda used this system to victimise students from the North and although things have changed in Malawi due to Democracy, as a Northerner, I have concerns that proponents of this system may at some point abuse it against my kids.

To argue that Northerners are complaining because they feel to be more intelligent than people from other regions is foolhardy. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that Northerners are more intelligent.The point is that any sane person should appreciate that the quota selection will discriminate some deserving students from one district who qualify more than others from another district but are left out because their district quota is exhausted. This is regardless of where they come from.

There is simply a thin line between equality of selection which the University Council is attempting to achieve and discrimination. I hope that the council members realise that a policy that achieves equality at the expence of discrimination is not equittable after all. The other social ill of the system is that it will result in most students facing identity crisis. How would a student whose mother comes from Rumphi and father from Mangochi choose where he/she comes from?

If the present system has resulted in some districts not benefiting, where is the evidence? The problem of poor education standards in some districts cannot be solved from the top. The governement ought to channel its energies wisely by ensuring that primary and secondary schools throughout the country have the same if not similar resources. The quota system at university level has some political overtones. Unless equality is achieved in development projects at regional level, the quota system being proposed sounds like pruning while all we need is to uproot the problem. It is worth noting that some cultural practices in some districts does not propagate a hardworking spirit amongst students. Some NGOs are working hard to discourage such practices but it takes time to change peoples’ attitude. This is what is needed at the moment. But why should students from certain parts of the country pay for the misdeed of other districts cultural dysfunctionalities?