Unproductive resistance

The resistance shown by academic authorities toward the education minister’s request that they take responsibility for choosing which departments in their universities should be merged is not surprising. That does not mean that it is not disappointing too.

Instead of contributing constructively to efforts to redraw the academic map, they are adopting the same tired attitude of cronyism and patronage, insisting that with the exception of a handful, all 430 of the country’s departments need to be kept intact.

It is a stance devoid of substance, yet it is tying the ministry’s hands and forcing it to move ahead with this much-needed reform on its own.