Page 1 of 8

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 474

Career Path in a Young University

Dr Nirmal Kumar

Case Study: Université Des Mascareignes

Betchoo is a long-term academic with almost three decades of teaching, researcher and writer

and has extensively published both locally and internationally. He also supervises doctoral

students in Mauritius.

Abstract

The Université des Mascareignes (UDM)

was set up in 2012 following an ambitious

need for the then Ministry of Tertiary

Education to boost tertiary level education

in the Republic of Mauritius with a

possibility of attaining 100,000 on-campus

students. With the coming of a new

government in power, tertiary education is

subject to scrutiny and more strenuous

controls. This has had the effect of bringing

systemic changes within the young

university that UDM claims to be. At the

present state, without having appointed

directors and chairmen for the effective

running of the university, academic and

non-academic staff appear to be lost within

this change. They are questioning the

future of the new university especially with

regards to the proposed career path that

could be of critical importance to long- serving staff and deserving employees.

Being at the crossroads at a particular

conjecture in its relatively young history,

this article purports the need to develop or

maintain career paths for all staff so that

there is motivation and hope for the future

of the university. This paper is essentially

an analytical article based on recent facts

and recorded in the form of minutes from

formal discussions between caretaker

management and staff in an animated

session where academic and non-academic

staff questions exchanged hard-nosed

questions. For the sake of confidentiality,

the primary data assessed is not displayed

in the research through published findings.

The arguments are however duly supported

by scholarly literature available for insight

into the problem area. The study supports

that strategic leadership, motivation and

reward including the need to adapt to the

present systemic change could be a source

of staff satisfaction and the perspective of a

better future in a young and promising

university.

Key words: university, systemic change,

career path

INTRODUCTION

Since the creation of the fourth public

university in Mauritius, the Université des

Page 2 of 8

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 475

Mascareignes, a fusion between ex-Swami

Dayanand Institute of Management and the

Institut Supérieur de Technologie,1

there

have been lots of expectations from the

academic and non-academic staff of the

new university. With a work experience

spanning 20 years and beyond for certain

staff, the career prospects of each and

everyone within the university looks rather

bleak. A recent report submitted to the

University explains that a minority of

positions are officialised while the

University demanded a substantial number

of posts to create the critical mass of

staffing needed to launch a full-fledged

university. Obviously, the heart of

university education lies in teaching and

academic excellence while from

government sources, no position apart from

that of lecturers has been mentioned. The

growing tension between enrolment

demand, constrained budgets, and greater

accountability has resulted in a

discouraging environment for the academic

profession worldwide. No university can

achieve success without well-qualified,

committed academic staff [1]. This has

instantly triggered a high level of

dissatisfaction among staff who expected

1 Université des Mascareignes is a fusion

between ex-Swami Dayanand Institute of

Management and the Institut Supérieur de

that the authorities would accept offering

promotional positions in the university.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

To understand the contemporary academic

profession, it is useful to examine the status

and working conditions of the academic

profession worldwide [2]. Well-established

universities like Nottingham University

(UK) claims that its procedure aims to

ensure that the University offers promotion

opportunities to staff taking account of the

individual’s career profile and pathway [3].

The non-recognition of higher grades or

promotional positions within the proposal

formulated by the Ministry of Civil Service

Affairs, made official to staff, clearly

makes the structure of the university look

like one affected by chronic sclerosis. This

term was voiced when the first director of

the university was appointed stating that the

priority of the Université des Mascareignes

would be to promote its staff in the shortest

delay. The development of the polytechnics

as tertiary institutions was based on a

strategy of elevation of technical institutes

or by government pronouncement [4]. The

absence of a clear transformation strategy

was one of the critical flaws of the

polytechnic upgrading process, the

Technologie accredited as a public university

in 2012. Also visit website : www.udm.mu

Page 3 of 8

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 03

April 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 476

ramifications of which are still evident in

the polytechnic system today [5]. A

structure typical of a medium-sized

polytechnic could not be adapted to a

university which normally claims having

lecturers, senior lecturers up to professor

grade. Since the report handed to all staff

of the university claims a reduction in the

number of posts available, this will in no

way help Université des Mascareignes

progress to higher levels comparable to

existing public universities in the country.

KEY ACTIONS SUGGESTED

The need for strategic leadership

The Université des Mascareignes clearly

needs strategic leadership following the

departure of its two former directors; one

being of French origin. So long as the

directors were in office, the university

operated fairly well since strategy for long- term survival (up to 2020) were commonly

agreed and discussed by all staff of the

university. This comprised inter-alia the

definition of career paths for all staff, the

immediate promotion of non-academic

staff to acting positions including the need

to include financial incentive schemes for

staff involved in research and teaching

excellence. Since the director position was

based on state nominations, it has been

subject to changes whereby the position is

no more filled since December 2015 and

staff are eagerly waiting for suitable

directors to emerge as university leaders

and demonstrate how they could bring the

desired change within the university. It can

be suggested here that organisations led by

visionaries who are not properly supported

by strong managerial leadership may

destroy wealth even more quickly than

organizations led by managerial leaders [6].

When organisations restore strategic

control and allow the development of a

critical mass of strategic leaders, these

leaders will be a source of above-average

returns [7].

Systemic change and challenges

Achieving systemic change relies on

cultural shifts that will require adequate

time, resources, and coordination. This

alignment cannot occur in a vacuum. It is

essential that funders, change agents, and

policy makers are well informed of their

mutual activities, and that they mutually

shape their actions in order to effect

systemic and lasting change [8]. Université

des Mascareignes is a young university

since it was created in 2012 but a fairly old

institution seen from its twenty years of

existence and the number of students who

have graduated since 1995. In the same

way, its academic staff joined the coveted