One cannot help but wonder how the conversion of what were considered pastimes once have now become sophisticated ‘college degree’ programs. It is no wonder former CM of Balochistan Nawab Raisani remarked that a degree is a degree whether real or fake? And sadly nobody understood him and thought that he was a goof. The problem in our context is really dire since colleges and universities have sprung up in virtually every nook and cranny of the country just to make a quick buck. All you need to do is to just have a few thousand rupees, get admission (doesn’t matter whether you attend classes or not) and in a few month’s time you can get the degree and that too of your choice. This is virtually true of some of the biggest universities in the land and even those who boast they are the oldest.
While it is impossible not to feel shocked that a painter or a poet now happens to be a graduate with a ‘degree’ and other such artists flaunting their skills on a resume with a tangible proof of their learning from the university concerned, this progress really seems to have changed the way we look at these individuals and in fact degrees?
I can only feel that degrees cannot lend any credibility to education or the potential talent of an individual. Granted we need to have better universities but then such institutions should not claim that their degree is the only and ultimate license to become an artist.
IRMA MASOOD,
Karachi, December 23.