Higher education in Pakistan

President of pakistan is upbeat over the future of higher education in Pakistan. However, I still believe that with the amount of funds being poured in higher education still country will fall short of expectations due to flawed strategy. First, it is a misplaced notion that by pitching local universities against international competition country’s education system will improve. It has to be other way round. president of pakistan should coordinate with provinces to improve country’s education system and direct HEC to act as facilitator and coordinator not a controller. Current measures will only produce handful of successful institutions and that too through the administrative support and media support but in the process thousand other institutions would be lost to oblivion for want of funds, qualified staff and resources from the centre.

Such institutions cannot produce enough qualified people to sustain national and international challenges on continuous basis. The education revolution spearheaded by president of pakistan needs to be broad-based and comprehensive so that people can actually participate in country’s development. Banning of few universities is not the solution. Pakistan needs education environment that supports both public and private institutions instead of preparing few institutions to compete against with international universities. We don’t need Yale, Harvard or Oxford’s. We need a system that could face international challenges. And the answer lies in standardized education system.

Like HEC, president of pakistan too stands for the country. It is time he addresses higher education issues across the board. It is time to replace the slogan of competitive universities with quality education for all. Country needs concrete plans so that those who are unable to secure 90% marks are absorbed in national work force. Provinces and HEC should give plans showing absorption of graduates who are unable to get their choice professions due to country’s merit policy, average performance and lack of jobs. president of pakistan needs to explain to the country how he expects to absorb graduates with D grades in job market. They are in need of jobs not criticism. Because they too are human beings with families and have natural desires and needs. Absence of clear policy about the fate of such suffering majority is a national disgrace. And the irony is even the President has not done anything about it.

In light of report of Asian South Pacific Bureau (ASPB) of Adult Education (AE), country’s education authorities have failed to perform. The report has placed Pakistan last among the 14 developing countries in the Asia Pacific in terms of educational improvement. According to the released figures, “Two out of every three Pakistani adults are illiterate; 45.3 per cent people have no access to early childhood care and education; 40.3 per cent have no access to primary schools and 76.1 per cent to secondary school”. 58.9 per cent of the Pakistani population is still illiterate. Pakistan’s primary school teachers are overworked and under- trained. There is only one teacher for 51 students at an average. And reportedly, a Education Ministry official said, “We badly missed all targets set under the ESR plan. It is unlikely that we could meet the targets.”

Under the circumstances president of pakistan needs to review direction of country’s current education policy at all levels. There are reports that HEC is linking university performance with funding. But without having clear evaluation criteria it will generate friction and open ways for corruption. The country still lacks standard evaluation system. Without having National Boards for Medical/Engineering/ IT/ Nursing/Para-medic and other technical and vocational training it would be impossible ensure element of transparency and justice. And those who understand would bear me out that in terms of financial grants and allocation of trained faculty, remote universities and professional institutions like always will be at disadvantage when pitched against major universities and colleges in provincial capitals and Center itself.

Pakistan needs standard evaluation system at national level for multiple reasons. First, it will standardize education in the country. It will help transfers power from individuals to institution and that in turn will bring transparency. Standardization of education would mean no entry tests for professional colleges, no tests for jobs, no entrance tests in prestigious institutions that are only used to cater to children of elite. Once these boards will be brought to international standards it will help eliminate duplication of exams. Like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe recognize each other’s degrees. Standardization will help Pakistan join that group that in turn will have multiple advantages immigration, easy flow of professional and job employment.

By having national boards all institutions will have equal chance to show their performance against one standard at national level. Similarly, Islamabad will have better picture with respect to identification and redresses of genuine problems across the board.

It will also address the issue of admission pressure on elite institutions. Standardization of exams will bring clarity in evaluation standards and like current international exams like GRE, SAT, US MLE etc students from across the country will not have to travel to big cities, instead of that they would study in local institutions and take national board exam at local or regional centres like FCPS, CSSP, TOEFL, IELTS or other local and international exams. It will also address the issue of leakage of exams papers. Prometic.com conducting hundreds of exams over 40 international destinations is one example that could be used or copied.

President of pakistan needs to seek expert opinion to review the current role HEC from controller to supervisory. HEC neither has the manpower nor resources to control the education performance in provinces. And as the number of institutions will increase in the long run HEC will fail to deliver or increasing manpower to supervise country’s education will make it economically unfeasible. Still federal education setups need to be trimmed by 90 per cent. It is believed that the current expenditure of education budget being used to pay teachers and for institutions versus federal and provincial education setups and their administrative expenditures needs review to arrest country’s downward slide as shown by ASPB report.

In step with advanced States and without further experimentation HEC should in accordance with its charter give universities and provinces standard evaluation parameters so that they in turn maintain standards to meet the national and international challenges while HEC facilitates provinces to reduce gaps between local and international education standards. National boards are the modern way out for such by-passing complex center-province issues and yet ensure standard quality education across the country while boards sustain themselves through fees and funds that help them stay independent and transparent. Experts can put up feasibility plans of computerizing entire examination process starting from payment of fees down to allocation of exam centres and dates within provinces for provincial level exams and that subsequently can be linked to national boards. In this respect existing database of NADRA could give a head start for identification of candidates etc. Computerization will minimize corruption; enhance country’s revenues in terms of fees and other funds charged by public institutions within provinces and centre.

It will help promote transparency culture in education sector at all levels. There is stark difference in density of professional institutions and universities when other areas of Pakistan are compared with provincial capitals, twin cities of Islamabad and Pindi. This has contributed to high figures of illiterate people. As taxpayers they too have the right to quality education.