COMMENT | Lately, a debate has emerged about whether career academics or people outside of academia should be appointed as the Minister of Higher Education (MOHE). I would like to discuss this issue within the context of the deteriorating quality of our universities.

The issue of whether the minister should come from an academic background was mentioned at a recent forum.

The forum focused on the intersectionality of public policy and higher education. It was organised by undergraduate political science students at a public university.

They did a superb job. However, and this is no fault of the organisers, the atmosphere at the faculty auditorium often “see-sawed” between dignified and scholarly discourse, and boisterous, fist-pumping, political sloganeering and rallying.

This was probably unavoidable since the speakers were impassioned, and the panel featured both academics and politicians.

What is more critical though is...