Daily Times

The incompetent manner in which the design and construction of the Nandipur power plant was carried out is making headlines. The power plant is way over budget and is performing way under the capacity it was designed for. The project is just another example of how poorly the engineering industry in Pakistan is performing. The lack of quality education in technical universities is a major contributor towards the lack of technological expertise in the country.

In the 1970s the University of Engineering and Technology, located in Lahore, was the country’s premier engineering school. I was one of those privileged to attend this flagship institution. I was admitted to the university in 1972 but classes commenced in 1973 as the academic year was running late by one whole year due to political disturbances and floods. Thus, a four-year programme was stretched to five years due to no fault of the students. More delays happened and it was not before six long years that I graduated.

Looking back at those years, I think I learnt a lot about life and very little about engineering. So, I guess to balance it all out, the purpose of education was achieved. The prime focus of the students at the university was to get a degree with as little effort as possible. Except for a few diligent ones, the vast majority considered learning any engineering a waste of time. Most students in the university had homes in other parts of the country and lived in campus hostels. These students were very keen on stretching any designated holidays or making a unilateral decision that some days were holidays so that they could go home. The modus operandi was to circulate a ‘letter’ for signature that would state that it had been decided to extend the official holiday by a week. Most students would sign it happily. In order to make sure that some studious types did not turn up for classes and thus put the absentees at a disadvantage, a few tough local students (known as day scholars) were assigned to ‘discourage’ any violation of solidarity by beating up anyone who dared to turn up.

The other activity that took up a lot of creative energy of the best and brightest of the country was how to make short cuts by copying assignments from others and cheating in the examinations. The local students would resort to conventional means of cheating like stuffing their pockets with helpful material or placing them in strategic locations in the washrooms to be consulted during a washroom break. Among the conventional means of cheating was writing on arms and chest with a pen.

There were some students who were better qualified to be miniaturists and calligraphists as they knew how to write down huge amounts of helpful information like formulas or definitions on a long strip of paper that was then rolled up to the size of a pill and hidden in shirt sleeves or pockets. These microchips were known as bootis. Some true masters of this art would attach a rubber band to the booti and tie one end to the sleeve button. This allowed for quick access by a tug at the rubber band and instant release back into the sleeve if an invigilator turned up.

But the true leaders in the field of cheating were foreign students from friendly nations like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Kuwait. These were students who were unable to get admissions in a university in their own country or in a European or US institution. These students were much richer than poor Pakistanis and were able to buy examination papers through channels in the university administration. They would then cram the answers to pass their exams. This method was known as parcha out (paper leaked).

One time, the university administration got wind of a leaked question paper just a day before the examination was scheduled. They quickly changed the exam paper. On the morning of the exam, when the question paper was handed out, the buyers of the outed parcha were stunned to see the dirty trick played on them by the university. Pandemonium broke out in the exam centre. One student stood up waving the question paper and shouted, “This is not the right question paper. Where is the helicopter question?” Apparently, there was a particularly tricky question in the ‘real’ question paper about the flight mechanics of a helicopter that had required a lot of cramming.

In spite of the very poor education we got, the top three percent of the graduating class managed to get admission in universities abroad for higher studies. Most of them did well, as they were bright and were able to learn notwithstanding the poor system of education they had come through. Most never returned to Pakistan. I was one of the fortunate ones who managed to get into a top Canadian school for graduate studies but the first semester was a nightmare as I realised that I had to virtually unlearn what I had been taught in Pakistan. The rest who stayed behind; well, they all managed to get jobs in Pakista, and most made a significant contribution towards the under-development of the country.

Often, when I tell these stories of our poor education system, the so-called patriotic Pakistanis jump to point out that I too was a product of the same system but I did well. To me, this is a silly argument as no matter how poor an education system is, a few always manage to do well. The true test of an education system is not how well the top three percent fare but how much the 97 percent learn.

It is not surprising that Pakistan is a technologically backward country. Most engineers and scientists in Pakistan do not understand even the basics of their discipline. Even the claim that we design our own rockets is very dubious. Nearly all of our industrial infrastructure like power plants, refineries, fertiliser plants, steel mills and large dams are all designed by foreign companies while, at best, Pakistanis take care of the operations and maintenance of these facilities.

We have a long way to go before we manage to develop even half decent technological manpower. In the meanwhile, the helicopter question remains as elusive at it was in the 1970s.

The writer is an engineer by training and a social scientist by inclination. He works as a consultant in the social sectora