Daily Times

The feudal-dominated Pakistan People’s Party, the provincial Legislative Assembly and the political administration have deliberately meted out a step-motherly treatment to the education to prevent or slow down the growth of a vocal and vibrant middle class to challenge their centuries-old social, economic and political dominance, power and privilege; claiming its legitimate share in the resources of the province.

They have skillfully established a clientele partnership with whatever middle class the province has by dishing out crumbs to it in terms of insignificant jobs, transfers, postings and promotions, admissions in universities to silence them over the closure of over 7000 schools, the unlawful appointment of teachers (300 teachers of Khairpur district only have been declared unlawfully appointed, and earlier some six District Education Officers were found guilty of unlawful appointments by Courts); the existence of ghost or permanently absent and habitual absconders in teaching staff reported to be over 10,220 with an additional lot of 5,249 in non-teaching staff totalling 15,469 (figures of Education Ministry); frauds in Board examinations, sale of university seats, shoulder promotions, filling the universities with corrupt and incompetent.

The Engineering department of the education sector is also in a gloomier condition. Funds are either swindled or mismanaged at the cost of the poor students. Many of the buildings of primary and secondary schools are in dilapidated conditions imperilling the life of students; thousands are without latrines, electricity and furniture. The number of the school buildings under unlawful possession of influential people for use as godowns, fodder stores, and cattle sheds also goes into thousands.

Without substantive improvement in the teaching through enhancement of the capacity of teachers, the mushroom creation of the campuses is a wastage of resources.

The state of affairs in education is so murkier; the corruption and maladministration so rampant; the political pull and push so endemic; unionism so vocal and audacious and the environs so turbulent that no minister of feudal background comes forward to take the portfolio. Late Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani refused to take the charge. Nisar Khuhro was made advisor of education after he lost his provincial constituency. The Ministry has exchanged hands between unelected Khuhro, Saeed Ghani, Sardar Shah, and Ismail Rahujo. Every one of them has left the department in a messier condition.

Notwithstanding the inability of the provincial administration to manage the established universities with a measure of efficiency and effectiveness by taking corrective steps, several new universities and campuses of the already existing universities have been set up without planning at the district level and filled with favourites in flagrant disregard of the precious financial resources of the province and quality education.

The educational institutions, for optimal and impressive results, are always dependent on qualified, trained, competent and highly committed teachers and skilful administrators. Without substantive improvement in the teaching through enhancement of the capacity of teachers, the mushroom creation of the campuses is a wastage of resources. It would serve the purpose of the ruling clique to accommodate a few more job seekers from amongst their favourites.

This money could have been invested into rigorous training of teachers, improving the dilapidated condition of school buildings and raising the standard of education at the primary, secondary high school and college levels to prepare legitimately deserving students for admission in higher educational institutions. Me Javed Leghari, the architect and the first principal of the Z A Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (ZABST) used to complain that he experienced enormous difficulty in selecting students on merit from the rural districts for ZABST. He pleaded with Muhtarma Benazir Bhutto for improvement of the standard of education in the already existing public schools and opening a few more standard schools.

The latest move of the provincial government for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of the public universities is a callous and cruel joke. The Search Committee advertises the post; the prospective candidates apply with copies of their curriculum vitae. The applications are shortlisted and the candidates called for an interview before the committee of two 20-grade bureaucrats and its unqualified chairman with a controversial reputation. This is blatant degradation of the post and an affront to self-respect and highly qualified professors.

How many PhDs with known academic and administrative calibre do we have in the province that require a committee to be searched out and appointed as Vice-Chancellors? Would we, by this degrading procedure, find scholars of the calibre of Raziuddin Siddiqui, Allama I I Kazi, Dr Nabi Bukhsh Baloch, Hassan Ali Abdul Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Dr S M Qureshi, Muzaffar Ali Shah and Professor Karar Hussain? Their vice chancellorships are remembered for scholastic achievements, the growth of the Institutions and the strict observance of merit and fair play.

Mrs Mehtab Rashdi, the erstwhile Secretary Culture, says she was interviewed by Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah himself for lecturer in International Relations. Professor Sikander Memon recalls that Mr Shah, in his morning walks, used to routinely count the trees, inspect the gardens within the premises of the Sindh University. He guarded against the encroachment on the lands and misuse of the properties of the university and closely watched the quality of lectures in the classrooms.

Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, the first principal of the Jamshoro Engineering College, is credited with the growth of the Institute into a University. He had made it part of his routine morning walk to inspect the cleanliness within the premises of the college picking up scattered papers and plastic bags to confine them to dustbins. What unassuming, selfless and visionary people and committed teachers we have had in our higher educational institutions who led by personal example.

No self-respecting and honest scholar would follow the above degrading procedure to have the job. For the Vice Chancellorship of a university, we do not only need a scholar of high academic calibre and administrative experience but a man of irreproachable character, integrity and vision with a strong commitment to education, nation-building, the welfare of students and growth and reputation of the institution under his charge. We have to approach these men and persuade them to accept this onerous responsibility instead of treating them as job seekers.

(To Be Continued)

The author was a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and he has authored two books.