We should have guessed it. The reason the Swaziland Government is wasting E16 million (US$2 million) of Swazi people’s money per year on the bogus Limkokwing University is because it was King Mswati III’s idea.
It has emerged that the university’s founder Tan Sri Dato Lim Kok Wing had a meeting with King Mswati and ‘persuaded’ him that Swaziland needed a new university – and Limkokwing should be it.
The king fell for it: hook, line and sinker. King Mswati is Chancellor of the University of Swaziland, so you would have supposed that if he had ideas for expanding tertiary education in the kingdom he rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, he would have used that route.
Instead, the king passed on his wishes to government that Limkokwing should be supported and behold, no matter how daft the proposition, it had to find the money to make it work.
As it is, Tan Sri Dato Lim Kok Wing managed to fool the king into believing that substandard courses in such subjects as Packaging Design & Technology, Accessories Design, Games Design and Event Management would help Swaziland – a mainly agricultural society - to prosper.
The only one prospering is Tan Sri Dato Lim Kok Wing who is trousering millions a year that could be better spent supporting proper projects that would contribute to development in the kingdom, where seven in ten people live in abject poverty.
How to spot a lecturer at Limkokwing, the newest university in Swaziland: they’re dressed from head to toe in black.
And so are their colleagues at Limkokwing in Lesotho ....and Botswana ... and in Malaysia where the university is based ... and in every campus that it has across the world.
Tan Sri Dato Lim Kok Wing, the owner and founder of the university, likes to think of his university as a bit of a cult. And like all cult leaders, he’s a bit bonkers too.
So why does he make his staff dress in black? He says he wants to build Limkokwing as a ‘brand’. Most of us thought the best way to ‘sell’ universities was to do high quality teaching and research and offer top quality courses.
But not at Limkokwing: it’s about your shirt and trousers.
Lim Kok Wing told the Starnewspaper in Malaysia, ‘It is a conscious effort to build the brand. Black traditionally is seen as a colour for mourning in some cultures, but these days you can see that black has become very fashionable, especially among the young. I use black as a team builder and as a result, we are known for wearing black. It has become part of the branding and our brand personality.’
Limkokwing University has been under fire in Botswana and Lesotho for the poor quality of its teaching staff and courses. So what does Lim Kok Wing do when there are complaints about quality?
‘We take immediate action and it starts by gathering facts to ascertain the validity of the complaints. I hold regular talks with all lecturers to instil my philosophy of what we must do to ensure our students do well in their studies. It is my belief that no student should fail,’ he told the Star.
‘If there are failures, then it is we who have failed them. I encourage all our lecturers to be good to students, to be kind and respectful because students have given us the opportunity to build this university. There is no university where there are no students.’
That gibberish must be music to the ears of students. Even the dullest and laziest will pass their courses, because teachers will be too scared to fail them.
Employers take note also. You won’t be able to judge whether a graduate from Limkokwing deserves their degree or they just got one for signing up for courses.
And lastly, here’s how Lim Kok Wing says he helps his academic staff to improve themselves and the quality of their teaching.
‘The university ecosystem revolves around creativity and innovation. It is the same in all the campuses we have set up in three continents. Creativity is such that those involved will seek better solutions and better quality.
‘Therefore, it is a challenge for anyone working with the university. Not everyone makes it.
‘Those with the right mindset respond and find they can build themselves to a higher level.
‘Those that don’t, could not get out of the comfort zones they have built into their minds.
‘Lecturers must empower themselves to meet the standards set by their students.’
The Swazi Government has committed about E16 million (US$2 million) a year to the university. Lim Kok Wing must be laughing all the way to the bank.
The Swaziland Government is about to waste nearly E16 million (US$2.1 million) it can’t afford supporting the substandard Limkokwing University.
Up to 800 scholarships at E19 500 each per year are to be paid for, according to Wilson Ntshangase, Swazi Minister of Education.
Limkokwing is a private university based in Malaysia that has been rapidly spreading campuses across the world. After years of delay, Limkokwing says it will open in Mbabane, Swaziland, this April (2011). It wants to have a total of 1,000 students at start up.
But why is the Swaziland Government supporting this university? Limkokwing has been dogged by controversy nearly everywhere it opens. Chief among the complaints are that Limkokwing offers substandard courses, with poor academic quality and poor teaching.
Limkokwing in Botswana had so many complaints that the government there has decidedto reduce the number of scholarships it offers from up to 5,000 to 400. The Botswana Government faces its own financial difficulties (but not as severe as in Swaziland) and decided Limkokwing should no longer be supported. There are fears that without government cash Limkokwing in Botswana will have to close.
The Botswana Guardiannewspaper reported, ‘Inside sources say the move [closure of the Botswana campus] is likely to affect both Lesotho and Swaziland campus, which are the off-springs of the Gaborone branch.’
Limkokwing cannot escape the controversy about the quality of its courses. We need to remember that an organisation isn’t a ‘university’ just because it says it is. A proper university offers high quality courses to high quality students using high quality staff.
Limkokwing falls down on all of these. The quality of students it takes is poor. In Swaziland, for example, it says it will take students with three credits in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. This is lower than the five credits needed for entry to the University of Swaziland (UNISWA), the kingdom’s only state-run university. I have written before that by international standards, the quality of the student intake at UNISWA is itself poor.
No student at a Limkokwing University should fail, according to its owner Tan Sri Dato Lim Kok Wing. He told a Malaysian newspaper, ‘It is my belief that no student should fail. If there are failures, then it is we who have failed them.’ Which, of course, means that lecturers will pass even the dullest and laziest students to avoid being criticised by their own bosses.
Then there is the quality of the staff. In Botswana there were complaints that many teachers were themselves recent graduates from the university. And not necessarily even ‘high fliers’. One report said some of the lecturers were still retaking their own courses at the state-run University of Botswana.
Over the past year Limkokwing has been advertising internationallyfor staff in its new campuses (including Swaziland). It states that applicants with bachelor degrees will be considered for posts. A proper university would expect staff to have Ph.D doctorate degrees.
In Botswana, Limkokwing was discovered illegally employing some lecturers.
Limkokwing itself has been less than clear about the way it ensures the quality of its courses. On websitesit says, ‘all programs awarded by Limkokwing University are quality assured by the International Consortium of University Partners’. But ‘The International Consortium of University Partners’ doesn’t exist. On closer inspection it turns out that this ‘international consortium’ is a group of academics that Limkokwing has brought together itself to approve its courses. That means it is judging its own quality, but implying that they are independently reviewed. The consortium doesn’t approve courses for any university, except Limkokwing.
The Cambodian campus of Limkokwing claims that it has ‘premier status’ from the UK Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC). But this is not true. The ACIS websitedoes not list Limkokwing Cambodia (but it does list Limkokwing’s London campus).
The Botswana Ministry of Education found that while Limkokwing University was highly recommended in Malaysia, the Botswana campus did not have the same status and that the Malaysia Quality Assurance (MQA) that approved courses in Malaysia did not recognise some of its Botswana subjects and qualifications.
So why is the Swaziland Government supporting Limkokwing? It can’t be because of the subjects it offers. A list of subjects offered in Swaziland published this week includes Graphic Designing, TV & Film Production, Architectural Technology, Advertising, Creative Multimedia, Information Technology, Event Management, Business Information Technology, Journalism and Media, Public Relations and Business Management.
It is difficult to see how any of these are relevant to the needs of Swaziland and why the Swazi Government should be paying public money for students to study them.
According to a report today (4 February 2011), in the Swazi Observer, the newspaper in effect owned and edited by King Mswati III, the government will pay for Limkokwing students ‘through its scholarships programme’.
If true, this must surely mean that money that would have been spent sending students to UNISWA will now be used for Limkokwing.
Why is the government doing this at the same time it is reducing the number of scholarships available at UNISWA? Students are set to march this week to protest at reduced scholarships; this misuse of government funds can only infuriate them further.
As I reportedon Tuesday (1 February 2011), last year Limkokwing reportedly said it wanted the Swazi Government to ‘pay scholarships for 1,000 students for ten years. They also want to be exempted from paying tax and not be required to pay rentals for the premises they want to occupy.’
The government has given Limkokwing most of the scholarships – what other concession has it made to entice this substandard university to set up in Swaziland?
Tan Sri Dato Lim Kok Wing must be rubbing his hands with glee: see how easy it is to milk the Swazi Government.
