By Dr. Nayyer Ali
Improve
Higher Education in Pakistan
Pervez
Hoodbhoy, one of Pakistan’s leading nuclear
physicists, has written extensively on the crisis
in higher education in Pakistan. I had the pleasure
of reading his work and felt that many of his
ideas should be shared with a wider audience,
which I will do in this piece.
Pakistan’s higher education system (at
the university level) is in deep need of fundamental
reform. Unlike at the primary level, where the
main problem is inadequate resources, the real
problem at the higher level is in the lack of
organization and rigor in the system. Funding
for higher education, although
certainly not as high as would be ideal, takes
a back seat to the administrative problems.
The problem begins with the lack of a national
exam system that can reliably score the academic
abilities of Pakistan students. This would be
the equivalent of the SAT in the US or the A
level in Britain. Creating such an exam system,
and protecting it from cheaters, must be a basic
priority. It would also create a clear goal
for high schools and parents all over Pakistan
as to what constitutes the quality education.
Second, at the PhD level, applicants should
pass the GRE exam, which is given in the US
and worldwide for admission into PhD programs.
This would weed out those individuals who are
poorly qualified to actually pursue a PhD. Third,
there must be a mechanism for establishing the
quality of new faculty. This too can be accomplished
through testing and through a mechanism to fire
incompetent professors.
Another option to improve the quality of Pakistani
university faculty is hiring from abroad. Hiring
American or European professors, although a
quick way
to obtain qualified faculty, is very expensive.
It can also create resentment by indigenous
faculty who are unhappy about the wide pay disparity.
As an
alternative, Pakistan could recruit faculty
from Iran or India. There are many qualified
professors, and they would work at wages much
more comparable to Pakistani wages. Hiring Indian
professors would have some implications for
national pride, but the priority should be national
development. Pride can come after the country
has developed and should not cause a delay in
the process.
Finally, there must be a merit-based system
for selecting the administrators of the universities.
The Vice-Chancellors and other administrators
must be
selected on competence and ability to lead,
and not as a patronage position staffed by those
with no interest in improving the institution
they serve.
These institutional reforms must be followed
up with deeper philosophical reforms. The good
university is a crown jewel in the cultural
and social and
intellectual life of a nation. Pakistan must
develop universities that are not simply competent
at imparting technical knowledge (for example,
Pakistan’s
medical schools do a fine job), but also become
home to serious thought, free debate, and real
research that is the equal of any in the world.
This requires a change in the mindset of higher
education. There is an ongoing massive expansion
of quantity in higher education, often resulting
in private institutions that hand out fake degrees,
but this must be accompanied by an even larger
expansion of quality.
Pakistan has been visibly turning the corner
in many fronts over the last five years. A serious
rethink and improvement in education, both at
the primary and secondary level, and at the
higher level, is now needed. Comments can reach
me at nali@socal.rr.com.
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