Muhammad Nadeem Bhatti - Pakistan is not the country of rich people. The poverty rate here is very high, which is one of the causes of poor situation of higher education. After matriculation and intermediate, parents force their children to earn livelihood along with education who cannot pay attention to their studies and finally drop out of schools for earnings.
People in Pakistan are impressed by the western culture; thus the culture of Pakistan and Islamic teachings don’t figure in their priorities. First of all, it is the responsibility of the government to think something out-of-box solution to the dismal higher education standards. Education needs proper guidance and financial assistance like we have in countries like United States – 100, United Kingdom – 98.5, Germany – 94, Australia – 92.6, Canada – 90.2, France – 89, Netherlands – 84.8, China – 83.5, South Korea – 80.1 and Japan – 78.5, where better higher education systems are in place.
The quality of higher education in a country is assessed by looking at the number of its universities featuring in international rankings. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is an independent, autonomous, and constitutionally established institution for primarily funding, overseeing, regulating, and accrediting the higher education efforts in Pakistan. It has also improved the higher educational system in the country by upgrading the universities and colleges in order to transform these into sources of higher learning, research, and development.
Over the several years, the HEC has played an important and leading role in building a knowledge based economy by giving hundreds of doctoral scholarships for education abroad every year. There are numerous universities in Pakistan that offer higher education, but despite all this, we are way behind the world in terms of education.
Even 69 years after independence, we have not been able to find the right way of giving quality education. One of the major problems in Pakistan is our political leaders, who are not well educated. Education system in Pakistan is not good as it should be in this world of science and technology. That’s why plenty of Pakistani students are forced to get education in foreign countries.
The Higher Education Commission is playing a vital role in raising higher education standards under the management of Dr Muhammad Nizamud Din.
There are many factors responsible for dismal state of higher education in Pakistan. All know very well that resources reserved for education in Pakistan are not enough. But the problem is that we are not benefitting from the available resources. In other words, resources are not being utilised properly due to dishonest and less educated policymakers.
Education in Pakistan is of different levels and qualities. Education for poor is different than for richer. There is no proper monitoring system in Pakistan to control the education system. Numerous educational institutions and universities are open now, but the standard of education is not good at all. Dr Ijaz Butt is trying his level best to improve the education system by using his expertise.
In developed countries, most of the part of financial budget is spent on education. But it doesn’t happen in Pakistan. Every year, the sector of education is bypassed; there are not enough finances to bring improvements in it.
For M Phils and PHDs, the government has allocated a specific allowance. But does it make sense that there is an allowance of Rs5, 000 for an M Phil student and Rs10, 000 for a PHD student? It can only be sufficient for his tea or cigarette expenses of one month. But it has been given the name of a special allowance.
How can we produce technologists and research technocrats? The Chief Minister Shebaz Sharif should take immediate action towards enhancing special allowance.
Therefore we talk about to being the Asian Tiger of economy. Moreover, limit of our loans has been crossed the alarming situation. But the Dharna programs have become a fashion to destroy the economy of Want-e-Aziz.
There should be understanding to continue the country smoothly. One strike had to pay the nation billions of rupees and destroyed image about Pakistan into the level of international markets. Bundle of taxes and horrible SRO’s are depressing to the investors, industrialists, importers and exporters. That’s why our industrialization flourishing no more and the specific youth group are getting involved to destroy the law and order situation of Pakistan.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Pakistan expanded 4.24 percent in 2015 from the previous year. GDP Growth Rate in Pakistan averaged 4.91 percent from 1952 until 2015, reaching an all time high of 10.22 percent in 1954 and a record low of -1.80 percent in 1952.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif should take a serious action to promote the educational research programs for the standardization of enhancing the GDP of Pakistan in world ranking countries and to stop unproductive universities to smash the image of Pakistan at world level. A higher level committee should be directed by the order of Chief Minister to see the matter of actuality to help the deserving researching people for Pakistan to promote level of education.
The unproductive directive will destroy the purposes, so the superintendent level person generate personally to influence the research making people of Punjab.
There is a need to enhance the monthly research fund of Higher Educated person like M.Phils and PHDs to make Pakistan in the level of developing countries for the radiant future of Pakistan. But counter check by the educational committee.
(Chairman Pakistan Columnist Council)