The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s decision to allocate Rs.29 billion to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), to be used in HEC’s various development schemes has been welcomed by friends and foes alike. Although the amount allocated by the government is satisfactory, mention of the HEC compels us to explore the myriad problems which plague the organisation and how there is much work required to improve its efficacy, leading to a higher quality of education and reduced unemployment in the country.
The conventional justification given for large-scale unemployment in Pakistan is a ‘tough job market’ which has been worsened by recent austerity measures. However, there is a much more insidious problem prevalent today – the deep-rooted precedence of quantity over quality.
In recent times, the HEC has been speedily doling out scholarship grants for PhD students and encouraging the adoption of more PhD programs at local universities. This seems to have been done in order for the country to remain competitive relative to the rest of the world in terms of the number of PhD students produced. It was also hoped that these students would be looking forward to better employment opportunities and lucrative salaries. The results were disastrous. By January 2019, over 1000 local PhD students were unemployed. Having underwent years of academic rigour and hard work without the hope of any remuneration for their efforts, indignant students lashed out; at the beginning of the year, students protested outside the Prime Minister House, burning photocopies of their degrees and demanding that the government give them jobs.
Although much of the damage has been mitigated by the HEC’s Interim Placement of Fresh PhD (IPFP) program, the institution must not depend on temporary solutions to a critical problem in our education system. The HEC’s erroneous and unplanned policies must not be repeated, and should instead, be replaced by policies that bring about long-term improvements in the quality of higher education in Pakistan. The dismal performance of Pakistani universities in the recent QS World University rankings leaves much to be desired; only seven Pakistani universities have been included in the top 500 for engineering and technology. A comparison with our South Asian neighbours does little to alleviate the forlornness; over fifteen Indian universities have been included in the overall top 500 universities in the world. There is undoubtedly a clear correlation between India’s superior education and the country’s economic progress.
The conventional justification given for large-scale unemployment in Pakistan is a ‘tough job market’ which has been worsened by recent austerity measures. However, there is a much more insidious problem prevalent today – the deep-rooted precedence of quantity over quality
To allow for a significant improvement in higher education in Pakistan, we need to go back to the basics and identify the factors that can precipitate positive change. These include (but are not limited to) infrastructure, quality teachers, feedback from students, strong course curriculum and a conducive learning environment. Although it may take a significant amount of time, the HEC must strive to work on the aforementioned factors, improving quality while also taking into account the needs of university students who may seek employment upon graduating. It would help greatly if consistent research were conducted regarding job market trends. In addition to this, information must be collected and readily made available to local university students about degrees that may be of low value to employers.
With all this being said, the fault does not only lie with the HEC. Pakistan’s governments have in the past, and to this day, continued to neglect education and healthcare, favouring investments in physical capital over investments in human capital. Government spending on education as a percentage of GDP has always been low in Pakistan, hovering at about 2% each year, but the government’s sudden decision to reduce spending on education by 20.5 percent has drawn anger from all corners. An investment in education is an investment in the future of our nation. The present government’s failure to deviate from the policies of past rulers will stagnate, if not diminish the state of education in Pakistan. This will in turn make it more difficult for institutions like the HEC to bring about improvements in teaching quality and an effective review process for all local universities. To top it all is the growing fear within the HEC that the government may not release the full Rs.29 billion amount agreed upon in the 2019-2020 budget. Last year, only Rs.18 billion out of a promised annual budget of Rs.30 billion was released to the HEC for the year 2018-2019.
It is hoped that the new government deviates from the destructive norms followed by past governments and brings about the change in Pakistan’s education system. Guiding and empowering the HEC should be its top priority in the coming years. They talked the talk. Now it is time for them to walk the talk.
The writer is a scholar at Columbia University