IT is an admitted fact that Pakistan does not have a uniform system of education at any level, especially at grassroots. This has created social and national disintegration. No government has taken any tangible steps to address the issue for creating a national cohesion.
School education is in dire straits, mainly because of political interference. The effects of school education could be witnessed in the higher education, especially in public sector universities of Pakistan. Up till 2002 the research culture in universities was nonexistent.
Since the inception of the Higher Education Commission a research buzz could be heard around. Discourse communities related to research, science and technology could be seen. Steps towards making free inquiry were taken.
Academic activities such as seminars and colloquia, where faculty shared the results of their ongoing research, became the norm. Also, steps were taken for creating culture of public lectures, debates, or discussions of contemporary scientific, cultural, or political issues.
The HEC opened the gates of scholarships for people to go abroad for doing research at doctoral and post-doctoral levels. Thousands of scholars are currently pursuing their studies in technologically advanced countries. New buildings, new laboratories, new equipment were given to universities. This was all possible because of non-interference of politicians.
News reports that the HEC is going to be devolved and control of the affairs of the commission will be handed over to the provinces has sent shockwaves to the academia. Consequently, the American government has already stopped a grant of $250 million which was in the pipeline for the HEC. The fate of the scholars who are involved in research in universities abroad may become uncertain and the investment made thus far may go down the drain.
This all suggests that with the devolution of the HEC the government is bent upon creating further social disintegration in the manner it has created at school level. Our higher education system will become as messy and chaotic as our education system is at the grassroots level.
I would to request the government to reverse the decision, and the HEC should be allowed to function in its existing form. DR (PROF) RAFIQUE A. MEMON Institute of English, University of Sindh, Jamshoro Question of national interest IT seems that in the pursuit of devolution the implementers are going overboard in their interpretations of the decisions pertaining to the 18th Amendment to our Constitution.
The case in point is the Higher Education Commission which is being targeted for devolution.
This action of the government is being opposed by the majority of the citizens of Pakistan. This time there is no ‘silent majority’ as all the stakeholders — students, teachers, faculty and all concerned citizens — are speaking out through the Internet, the print and electronic media. They are asking the government to reverse its decision of devolution of the HEC.
The HEC, a successor to the University Grants Commission, has done wonders in the field of higher education. It has been headed by competent persons till today who have over the years set standards of excellence in our universities in several areas such as academics, human resource, research and development, quality assurance, requirements for doctorates, focus on science and technology and, above all, the system of ranking of universities.
The HEC is an institution of which the country can be proud of and whose output can be measured on the international canvas. The argument for the HEC to remain intact is not because the provinces lack the capacity: it is a question of national interest which should be supreme for policymakers.
The national interest has many aspects such as economic growth and the preservation of the nation’s culture. Higher education is among these aspects. We have just started to catch up with the world community in higher education, but we will be lost altogether if this national institution is devolved.
Each province will then be having its own priorities and national goals and interests will be overlooked. The law of the HEC, besides other provisions, empowers it to “determine the equivalence and recognition of the degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by the institutions within the country and abroad.” This role by itself is enough to argue and insist for it to remain intact. After the HEC, next we will have the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, the Pakistan Engineering Council and similar professional degree-awarding institutes which might be abolished altogether or devolved. Mrs P.Q. AGHA Islamabad Putting education at stake THE government is about to take a destructive measure — devolution of the Higher Education Commission. There are facts and figures to corroborate that the HEC has played a key role in improving Pakistan’s image in the world, besides opening doors of opportunities to the meritorious students of our country.
It has played a great role in the education sector from 2001 to 2008 in higher education. There has been a 600 per cent increase in scientific publications in international journals, while there is also an equal increase of percentage of citations for the work of our scholars.
Today, several of our universities are ranked among the top 600 in the world. The National University of Science and Technology (NUST) was ranked at 350 in world university rankings in 2009. In the disciplinary rankings, the University of Karachi was ranked at 223 in the world, the NUST at 260 and the Quaid-i-Azam University at 270 in the world in the field of natural sciences. This is no mean achievement after decades of stagnation.
There has been a phenomenal increase in the output of PhDs since the inception of the HEC. The number of PhDs produced in seven years from 2003 to 2009 was 3,028, which is almost equal to those produced in the previous 55 years. The quality of the PhDs produced between 2003 and 2009 is guaranteed through mandatory evaluation and approval of the dissertations by examiners from technologically advanced countries.
The Karakoram International University, Gilgit, has hosted the rector of the University of Bonn, Germany, to study climate change. The researchers from the Kohat University of Science and Technology published more papers in the world’s leading research journals than many local universities established decades ago. The University of Gujrat boasts the best Department of Industrial Design in Pakistan.
I would urge the president and the prime minister to save our education sector. Devolution of the HEC is like putting our education at stake. IRFAN ALI GOJALI Karachi A hasty decision DESPITE imploring and entreaties by two well-known educationists, the government is bent on devolving the Higher Education Commission. There is nothing wrong in devolution but this must be done gradually when our provinces have the capability of handling higher education.
The HEC over a period has contributed a lot to advanced education, helping thousands of people to scale greater heights in various fields.
I have a personal experience which shows the importance of the HEC. My son after doing MBA from a local university wanted to pursue higher studies in the US. He got all his certificates and testimonials authenticated from his university none of which was accepted by the college he wanted to join in the US. Authentication only by the HEC was acceptable to them. My son got it done and everything then went well. We must not destroy the HEC and higher education by taking a hasty decision. S.M. ANWAR Karachi
0 comments:
Post a Comment