海角大神

When classes resumed听on Monday听at Garissa University, where the Somalia-based militant group Al Shabab killed 148 people last April, many here saw it as a second chance for the region.

The dormitory where more than 100 students听died听has been repaired and renamed. A grove of trees was planted on the front lawn in memory of the dead. But bullet holes remain in the building walls and some windows are still shattered. The听bulk of the school鈥檚 remaining 800 students have transferred to another university; none have re-enrolled so far.听

The university will never be the same, but that could be a good thing -- some say that since its opening, the university has failed to serve the region as much as it should.听When it opened in 2011 after nearly a decade of local campaigning, it was hailed as a sign that Kenya's听long marginalized north 鈥� where Al Shabab militants posed a growing threat 鈥� was finally being connected to the rest of the country.

Decades of government neglect, coupled with a pastoralist lifestyle that makes school attendance erratic, meant northern students lagged their peers. Most students in Kenya's public universities听are sponsored by the government and assigned to a university from a pool of potential schools if their grades suffice.听But few northerners make the cut: since Garissa opened, it has enrolled only a handful of students from the region.

As such, it missed the point, locals say. Instead of serving the north, it听became a temporary stop for non-local students before returning to more prosperous, stable regions.

鈥淚t was supposed to promote and educate more students from the area. It鈥檚 supposed to help the region grow,鈥� says Ahmed Osman Warfa, the principal and a native of Wajir, one of the predominantly Somali counties of the northeast.

As former and potential students stay away,听Mr. Warfa and his staff see a chance to provide to northerners the educational opportunities the university was supposed to deliver.听

The university's "act two" needs to be different, says Hassan Sheikh Ali, a retired education official who helped bring Garissa University into existence.听鈥淭he university today is a landmark because of the massacre. Let the university be reopened, rebranded, rebalanced to help the locals.鈥�

Not making the cut听听

After the attack, Garissa was taken out of the selection pool last year. The Ministry of Education hasn鈥檛 announced whether it will be included later this year. Attacks by Al Shabab have declined and Garissa's streets are bustling again, but the perception lingers in the rest of Kenya that Garissa, a few hour's drive from the Somali border, is a dangerous frontier town.

As a result, non-local students are unlikely to voluntarily come here, while those enrolled at Garissa University before the attack aren't required to move back.

鈥淚鈥檓 not very happy with the idea [of the university reopening]. The same thing can repeat itself again. There鈥檚 no assurance of security there,鈥� says Margaret Murugi Mbirangu, who appealed for a transfer when she was first assigned to Garissa University in 2014.听She is now in her second year at Moi University, Garissa鈥檚 parent university in Eldoret in western Kenya, and she refuses to return.听

鈥淢y own bedmate, I lost her, and then I go to sleep in the same place?鈥�

Faced with a student shortage, Warfa is enrolling more听privately sponsored students who pay more for tuition. Many are听local residents who take classes in the evenings and can get accepted with grades as low as C-.听

This bolsters the case for an affirmative action program that would lower the standards for northerners to obtain government sponsorship for this university specifically.听

鈥淎bsorb these children even with low grades so they feel part and parcel of this country,鈥� says Mr. Ali. 鈥淕arissa University belongs to the region.鈥�听

Looking forward

On Jan. 7, a few days after last week's official reopening, 145 students showed up at the university gates, Warfa says 鈥� some of them newly registered. Before the attack there were between 60 and 80 non-traditional students, and Warfa hopes to raise that to at least 200 in the coming months. Many take classes in the evenings because they work during the day.听Tuition money comes from their families and from local lawmakers. Warfa wants to see county governments sponsor some as well.

鈥淲e have to have the [privately sponsored students] program running. Once we have that, we can justify why we鈥檙e here,鈥� he says.听

Also on the horizon is a university charter that would make Garissa an independent university,听an important step if administrators want to call the shots.听

鈥淚鈥檒l always remember the students killed under my watch,鈥� says Warfa, describing listening to the gunshots from his nearby house as he waited for police and military to arrive at the university. It took more than two hours. 听

鈥淚t鈥檚 very important that this university remain a beacon of hope,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is a lifeline for the northern people.鈥澨�

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting supported the reporting for this story.听