Do university degrees make better leaders?

When I mentioned to my post-graduate supervisor Dr. Bob Smith that a professor of mathematics - George Saitoti – had been appointed as the Vice-President of Kenya, he quipped that Prof Saitoti would get his sums right. And indeed he must have had his political sums right to have served in that position for close to 12 years.

Were this set up to be repeated today at the appointment of Professor Kindiki Kithure, he would possibly say that he will get his legal bearings right unlike his immediate predecessor. Since then, I have been intrigued by the success or failure of leaders worldwide on the basis of their qualifications. Sample the following.

The United Kingdom has had 68 Prime Ministers. Eight of them, including Sir Winston Churchill and John Major, did not possess university degrees.

Australia has had 37 Prime Ministers since independence, 13 of whom were not university graduates. Out of the first 10 of them, only two held degrees.

In the United States of America, 12 of 45 former Presidents did not benefit from university education. The famous 16th President Abraham Lincoln had very little formal Education.

Canada has had 23 Prime Ministers of whom 18 held university degrees. Incidentally, it is not a requirement to possess a university degree to be elected as a Prime Minister yet it is a well-developed country.

India has had 14 Prime Ministers since Independence in 1947 with diverse educational backgrounds and qualifications. The most successful of them were economists, lawyers, political scientists, historians and engineers.

An analysis of the scenarios in these countries gives the impression that in their formative years, they were led by individuals without degrees.

Have we attached too much premium on education in Kenya? The USA and Australia have been independent for 246 and 120 years respectively and had non-graduate presidents for cumulative periods of over 50 years each.

In Kenya, we have put laws and regulations that require presidents and governors to possess degrees to be allowed to contest for these positions. Since Australia, which is 13 times larger than Kenya and was led for about 50 years by non-graduates, how come we insist that small counties like Lamu, Elgeiyo Marakwet, Kirinyaga and Vihiga must have graduates as governors?

If the United Kingdom with close to 600 years of civilization trusted a non-graduate – John Major – as Prime Minister barely 18 years ago, why would we alienate some excellent political mobilisers and debaters of the mould of Martin Shikuku from being elected as governors on account of lack of an academic degree?

I wish, however, to say that education is necessary but not sufficient for good leadership. We must endeavor to elect educated leaders as a priority but we should not overlook the less educated in seeking for their views. Let us always remember the words contained in the desiderata that “listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story”

Benjamin Sogomo is an education expert and former secretary of TSC. [email protected].