I am appalled by the NEAC suggestion calling for the formation of a 'Super University'. According to NEAC, this 'Super U' will be the (ultimate) centre for research and development and expert resources in all disciplines. Needless to say, huge government grants will invariably be channeled to it.

My concern is, if 'Super U' were to be all mighty, what will happen to our current universities? No university in this world can claim to be the expert or the best in every field. Each university will have its core strength and expertise in a particular field.

It may therefore not be all that wise to channel all our resources (which are pretty scarce) to one particular university, as this will inevitably deny others their share of allocations.

Instead, we should focus our effort on developing and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of our existing universities as well as the current education system.

With the proposed 'Super U', who are the potential 'super' undergraduates or lecturers? There is a popular maxim that "an organisation is as good as its people" and on this score, I would say, "a university is as good as its students and lecturers".

If the pool of students and lecturers were to come from the same source, isn't it then a case of "old wine in an new bottle?".