Daily Times

The world over, universities are following the guidelines to equate the studies of sciences and humanities, including the arts, on an equal footing. Still, in countries like Pakistan, a few individuals at the helm of academic affairs attempted to promote only the sciences, allocated vast amounts of funding to scientific research studies, and set the standards to be applied for promoting and developing these studies. While doing so, the significance of arts and the humanities was put off or ignored in the name of scientific progress. This was no less than an academic error because without an education in the arts and humanities, which are inclusive and equally promoted in universities, one cannot produce sound, practical, and viable individuals, and ultimately, society must deal with war-mongering and negative minds bent on impeding humanity’s progress.

One of the glaring disparities in this regard is that between the QEC and ORIC departments of universities, where participation and contributions of the department of arts and humanities are equal to zero. At certain universities, these subjects are banned because natural and modern education and research are only available in scientific research studies. This is undoubtedly and manifestly resulting in the universities’ failure to produce the civically educated individual supposed to handle multiple departments of human life. As such, the humanities departments need help understanding how they could be considered worthless in some such contributions and how their work could go unencouraged. Unfortunately, the same holds good here: we prefer individuals over institutions. At the time of its establishment, the HEC designed all its policies keeping in mind the science-related departments, while the humanities were either not given their due share or were ignored altogether.

To achieve quality standards in higher education at all levels of the university, representatives of the arts and humanities must be included. Equal opportunity standards must be followed to ensure equal opportunities for the development and progress of these critical fields, so that Pakistan’s social fabric can be integrated, consolidated, and strengthened at the national and international levels by providing a product that is not only manufactured on scientific foundations but also knows how to be a good and valuable member of society.

Some unignorable disparities need to be addressed, at least. When the institution needs to award a grant and the justification is given that you are from the arts and humanities, the terms and conditions set for science studies are applied to the studies, promotions, and faculty selections. As a result, while providing means for monitoring institutions, the standards for dealing with the arts and humanities must be the same. The universities, for example, accept a maximum of four research members in an article for faculty selection, promotion, and awarding rewards. At the same time, in the case of scientific research, there have never been such restrictions. Though HEC does not impose any restrictions, universities have attempted to follow the same guidelines established by HEC at the time of its inception.

In the case of scientific research, funding is allocated, donated, and contributed heavily, while in the case of the humanities, the funding always seems inadequate. It is highly beneficial that science and other projects be funded and conducted as much as possible. The budget may be allocated as much as possible to scientific advancement, but ignoring the humanities and arts can have serious sociopolitical consequences. At the same time, research projects on localized and indigenous themes must be included in research grants because what is good or beneficial for the West and the United States may not be good or beneficial for the people of Pakistan due to different or opposing ground realities. Many languages from regional, provincial, and heritage-based areas need to be explored and investigated to provide harmony and integrated infrastructure to the social fabric.

On the other hand, if the quality of research and studies is to be ensured in universities, how come the institutions held and directed by scientists can bring quality to all departments of the university, especially when the HEC, QEC, and ORIC in universities are not answerable to any other authority of the university? Ironically enough, the supervising institutions direct the same institutions to intervene in every university affair. How come a science-trained man may be able to bring quality to the research and studies in the field of humanities? So, there must be a significant portion allocated to the researchers from the arts and humanities in formulating and running such institutions and their functions in the universities, which would surely bring quality across the board, which is at this moment discriminatory and partial.

To achieve quality standards in higher education at all levels of the university, representatives of the arts and humanities must be included. Equal opportunity standards must be followed to ensure equal opportunities for the development and progress of these critical fields, so that Pakistan’s social fabric can be integrated, consolidated, and strengthened at the national and international levels by providing a product that is not only manufactured on scientific foundations but also knows how to be a good and valuable member of society.

The writer is a professor of English at Government Emerson University, Multan. He can be reached at zeadogar@hotmail.com and Tweets at @Profzee