Education and the problems

Tahir Kamran
Political Economy
December 29, 2019

The medium of instruction and uniformity of the curriculum are

the most daunting of challenges confronting the government

Before the Students’ Solidarity March held on November 29, which called
for the restoration of student unions and demanded reduction in tuition
fees, among other reforms, inaction prevailed on the education front
throughout the year.
The movement for the restoration of student unions was spearheaded by
Progressive Students’ Collective, a body of young people imbued with
idealism to dismantle the ramshackle edifice of the status quo in the realm
of higher education.
What they do not realise is that with the restoration of student unions,
right-wing factions and groups are likely to have a field day. They have a
numeric majority and are far more organised than those subscribing to left-
liberal ideals.
In the past, student politics on campuses was orchestrated by political
leadership at the national and provincial levels. Unfortunately, the liberal-
left opinion is not reflected in politics, neither at the provincial nor the
national level. If student unions are restored, a strong likelihood for
various religious groups to assert and consolidate their respective positions
seems inevitable.
The prime minister has showed his willingness to restore student unions
with some regulatory framework and the Sindh government has prepared
a bill to restore the unions. Having said that, with the benefit of hindsight,
the Progressive Student’s Collective is advised to reconsider its strategy
and not entertain any illusions that its success and media momentum
generated by it might have created. They will not have any substantial gain
in case student unions are reinstated. They are not organised and have little
room to maneuver in the preponderance of right-wing ideologies.
The restoration of student unions will benefit the student arm of the
Jamaat-i-Islami, particularly in the Punjab. The Islami Jamiat-i-Tulaba
holds sway over many institutions, like the Punjab University, where the
current administration is positively disposed towards the IJT. One should
not rule out that it may bounce back in the University of Engineering and
Technology and other institutions, too.
Elsewhere, during the year, a few ripples seemed to disturb the otherwise
calm surface of higher education in the country when the budgetary
allocation for higher education was subjected to a relentless squeeze. The
‘imported’ chairman of the higher education commission was blamed for
the cut. That seems to be his only contribution since his appointment.
It is, indeed, unfortunate that the good work initially done by Dr Attaur
Rehman has not been continued by his successors. The current chairman is
accused of not listening even to academics with an international reputation,
and often dismissing them without hearing their suggestions.
The present government is persisting with the policies of the previous
governments when it comes to neglecting higher education. Mostly,
university teachers with hardly any insight into the affairs of higher
education have pervaded the HEC. Some of its chairmen too have not been
among the exceptions.
One cannot even put these officials in the bracket of technocrats of any
considerable merit, either. Therefore, the fact that no structural reform (or
improvement) has ever been initiated by the HEC, is understandable. With
the devolution of powers encapsulated in the 18 th Amendment, its role has
become complicated because higher education has become a provincial
subject. The devolution of education to the provinces will be the subject of
another column.
The situation is marked with monotony in the Punjab and it appears that
the concerned authorities have not even thought of a departure from past
practices. The number of secretaries who have come and left the
department seems to indicate a state of utter apathy bordering on
repulsion.
Some clumsy attempt was made early this year to overhaul higher
education and some ‘imported’ individual masquerading as an academic (I
hear he was hired by a prime institution of higher learning in the private
sector) was put in charge of the whole exercise. But after the lapse of almost
a year, nobody has any clue about what became of the recommendations of
the numerous committees formed at the Punjab HEC. It seems likely that it
was all a deception.
Similarly, in an act that will have long-reaching impact, several
appointments of vice chancellors were made without reforming the policy
adopted by Shahbaz Sharif’s government. The person who was made
convener of the search committees constituted for the selection of vice
chancellors in the Punjab has a dubious reputation as an administrator of a
leading educational institution. As an academic, he does not have any
reputation to speak of.
Recently, a massive scam surfaced in the media as the administration of GC
University was accused of embezzlement to the tune of $7 million in
recruitments to Abdus Salam School of Mathematics. The person selecting
vice chancellors was the vice chancellor when that school was established
and the director was appointed by him.
In view of these failings of stupendous proportions, it seems
extraordinarily suspicious why someone with a reputation as a vindictive
administrator was asked to perform such a crucial role. The Punjab Higher
Education has a new chairman as well. His transformation from being the
vice chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore,
where obviously he did not leave behind much of a legacy, will be
interesting to watch.
The sad fact is that when the Punjab Higher Education Commission was
established, it was seen as a competitor for finances and influence by
officials of the Higher Education Department. Ever since, the distribution
of responsibilities and resources has caused bickering between these two
bodies. The challenge for any administrator is to make these two bodies
function amicably and in tandem with each other.
The Punjab government needs to pay special attention and care to how it
manages this situation. One may suggest the re-constitution of an
education department in which various segments like school education,
higher education and special education (that also includes literacy) are
linked with one another, while keeping their own identity intact.
While talking about education reform, the medium of instruction and
uniformity of curriculum are the most daunting of challenges confronting
the current government. In Pakistani society in which class differentiation
is deeply entrenched, to wish for uniformity is nothing more than living in
a fool’s paradise.
Federal Minister Shafqat Mehmood showed genuine concern while
referring to the difference between the educational systems operating in
Pakistan, where a student from a madrassa and one from some decent
English-medium school cannot hold a conversation as equals. In such a
situation, drastic measures will have to be taken to enforce the same
medium of instruction.
Uniformity in the education system can hardly be practised in such a
diverse society as Pakistan. In fact, such uniformity might strengthen the
right-wing ideological position, given the nurturing it has received from
every corner for the last four decades. Uniformity in education is usually
attainable in states and societies having a singular ethnicity with the same
historical experience. In the entire 2019, no progress in this direction was
made which is understandable.
School education is as poorly managed as before. Secondary education
boards are in a deplorable state and there is no strategy in place to improve
their functioning. Political parties must have some inkling of the scale of
intricacies involved in the prevailing situation, before formulating their
election slogans. They must not say what they cannot do.

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Revival of student unions in Pakistan and
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