Daily Times

KARACHI: Former director of Pakistan Study Centre at the University of Karachi Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed lectured on “70 years of Pakistan: Achievements and Challenges” as part of lecture series organised by the Ziauddin University.

“If military rule is a better solution then why it couldn’t retain permanently? Because, it is not designed for politics or solving political issues,” he said. He claimed that during the partition of 1947, it has been a largest mass migration in the human history as 12 million refugees of subcontinent were displaced.

He said that Pakistan came into being without government, constitution and resources. The constitution was formulated after 23 years of independence, which is a remarkable achievement. Pakistan’s economy is progressing with the inclusion of industries. Marketing sector is interlinked with the global economy.

Talking about population of the country, he said that population statistics have altered during the last 35 years as 60% is now below 30 years of age who are deprived of quality education, job opportunities, and energy and water resources.

He revealed that there are 180 universities in the country with majority of female students. The University of Karachi has 72%, the University of Gujrat has 73% whereas the University of Sargodha has 74% female students. The proportion explains rational growth of the people of Pakistan. Now, parents prefer to educate their children than investing on other areas.

About challenges we face today, Dr Jaffer said that there is an uneven growth in the education sector, from 1990 to 2014, only 400 universities and 130 schools has been established. Schools can build a strong base of students that is reflected on colleges and then universities. He said that it has been an unfortunate situation that there is no common education system for the students.

Moreover, he claimed that the government is reluctant to spend more than 2% in the education sector whereas at least 4% is required for the development.

He urged that democracy constructs mechanism to resolve public issues in an organised manner. He hoped that the issues are resolved democratically.

Published in Daily Times, April 12^th 2018.