Daily Times

Regardless of the multiple nature of the issues the universities face, their main function is to serve the people by providing a forum for discussion and debate to formulate wholesome policies for its people’s moral, social, and political uplift. Besides, the universities are expected to develop a genuine creation of new knowledge via research and implementation of innovations. Universities around the globe have worked wonders in this regard by inviting intellectuals and researchers to hold a constructive debate and dialogue on the world changing around them so that lawmakers or policymakers may constantly evolve for the freedom and well-being of their people. These universities have also generated a gigantic amount of knowledge which has boosted the scientific and technical progress of the above-mentioned countries that today the world is looking towards them for cooperation.

Unfortunately, in Pakistan, this has not happened with full letter and spirit because here universities have gradually fallen victim to political polarization, financial constraints, and an absence of genuine researchers and intellectuals. The universities could not harness the full potential of their existence and instead started to collect as much money as possible by lowering the quality to enhance the number of admissions and the relevant charges. While the private institutions were providing better infrastructure and facilities to their students, they became an imposing threat to the public universities and hence generated a competition for admissions which prompted the absence of merit. The unthoughtful policies of the government opened universities more than needed and so now universities are struggling to maintain their evening shifts. This tendency has severely damaged the quality of work.

Universities around the globe have worked wonders by inviting intellectuals and researchers to hold a constructive debate so policymakers may constantly evolve.

The creation of knowledge through research has become a race for earning money and each faculty member, be it in a private or public institution, is boasting of research papers and articles in triple digits. While the world watchdogs are reporting Pakistan is almost at the top ranking in plagiarism-related reports. In such a situation creation of real and innovative knowledge is a far cry and a distant dream because of multiple available and accessible resources. The university’s watchdogs need to develop filters for assessing quality research and to stop plagiarized or chatbot-generated material from getting published. Thanks to the newly enhanced filters of some indexes which would not allow any such materials to be ranked among the quality research papers.

There are now a sufficient number of colleges available for BS degree programs under the umbrella of renowned universities, so, universities must not seek admissions for BS programs and instead focus on the MS and PhD programs to engage their faculty in quality research and debate, as per the availability of faculty and the requisite resources. This society is facing huge sociopolitical issues and a struggle for its space in the world.

This needs solutions that only research at the universities can provide. We need to be tolerant and ethically strong people to make our mark in the world and that is only possible when universities generate free debate on the research done under them. The research should also be problem-solving in nature as per the ground realities of our society. The authorities and the policymakers must also join hands to pool up resources for maintenance and research at the universities and to provide a conducive environment for the work of the faculty. Besides these measures, job-oriented and market-oriented skill-based education must be propagated.

The curricula should be revisited in this regard because the graduating students from the universities are gradually becoming disappointed when they do not find jobs or work as per their qualifications. Our universities are capable of delivering for the good of societies only if a little policy shift and target-oriented delivery of education and research are ensured. This policy should also include the selection and promotion criterion in the universities. The entry-level recruitment can be made transparent and qualitative by involving the Federal Public Service Commission and the higher entry-level must ensure that the faculty being recruited has outperformed somehow and his research has contributed significantly to the scientific, social, ethical, and political uplift of the society. Once this type of impact factor and industrial liaison is ensured for promotion to the higher entry level, the race to get a maximum number of papers published in the shortest possible time is also expected to minimize to ensure the quality, not the quantity.

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