The textbook on the University of South Carolina Sumter now being written by the General Assembly should be called "How Bad Government Works."

It should teach all South Carolinians a lesson: This state's higher education system is broken and needs to be fixed. The quickest fix would be to get the legislature out of the mix and put the system under the control of a powerful board of regents. The story of USC Sumter shows why.

Supporters of the two-year USC Sumter, including influential legislators, want the school to be granted four-year status. The suggestion to expand USC Sumter is widely seen as foolish, primarily because this is a small, poor state that already is struggling to support 33 institutions of higher education. Also, USC Sumter is close to other options, such as the University of South Carolina in Columbia or Francis Marion University in Florence.

Whatever the reason, the expansion of USC Sumter is opposed by the governor, the president of the University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina board of trustees and the S.C. Commission on Higher Education.

But in a stark move showing how bad government works, USC Sumter supporters in the General Assembly have tacked its expansion onto another bill. The massive Life Sciences Act -- which has broad support from the governor, General Assembly and the research universities -- now is loaded with amendments, including expansion of USC Sumter and shooting down Gov. Mark Sanford's proposal to phase out two smaller USC branches.

This is a practice called "bobtailing" and it is as old as the General Assembly itself. That's why a fire wall needs to be constructed between the legislature and the governance of higher education, as Sanford has suggested.

State Sen. Chauncey Gregory, R-Lancaster, best summarized the problem in a comment to The Post and Courier of Charleston. He said of the USC Sumter amendment: "It's a classic example of what is wrong with government in South Carolina. We have 170 politicians trying to run 34 colleges."

The results are predictable for the university system: Duplication of services, fuzzy missions, shrinking state allocations, lack of accountability and, worst of all, mediocrity.

Ironically, the Life Sciences Act is designed to give the university system new tools to excel.

But to truly excel, South Carolina needs to first and foremost fix the basic structure of its higher education system.

As long as it works from the textbook, "How Bad Government Works," don't expect many good report cards.