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The wrong question
Ok here’s a pop quiz question to get your grey matter working. What do the Queen, Bill Gates and eminent Pakistan...
The writer is a freelance broadcast and print journalist (george.fulton@tribune.com.pk)
Ok here’s a pop quiz question to get your grey matter working. What do the Queen, Bill Gates and eminent Pakistan journalist and former editor of The News Ghazi Salahuddin all have in common? Answer: Neither one of them have a degree. Nor, for that matter, did Steven Spielberg, Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, John Major or Harry S Truman.
We can go back further in history. Moses, Jesus and the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) did not have a tertiary education. It’s debatable whether they were even literate. But that does not stop many millions in this world from following their teachings and actions. These are people to admire, respect and follow, yet today they wouldn’t get a seat in the Balochistan provincial assembly. Conversely, the likes of George W Bush, alleged credit card thief Shumaila Rana and our very own chief minister of Balochistan, Nawab Aslam Raisani, all supposedly have degrees. Yet would you want any one of them representing you?
Raisani recently rebuked reporters saying “A degree is a degree! Whether fake or genuine, it’s a degree! It makes no difference!” Ok Mr Raisani, please allow me to perform open heart surgery on you whenever you are ill. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. Doesn’t really matter that I’m not qualified, does it? A doctor is a doctor, qualified or otherwise, nah? Despite apparently having an MA degree in political science, pro-cheating Raisani has clearly proven ill-suited to run a ghusalkhana let alone the largest province of this great country.
President Musharraf’s rule requiring politicians to have a degree was always misguided, even if honourable in theory. The impetus for its introduction was to raise standards in parliament but that didn’t disguise the fact it was undemocratic, elitist and ill-advised. In a country where barely half the population is literate, the degree law turned us from a democracy into an oligarchy overnight. As if having a degree automatically qualifies you for high office? Between Abdul Sattar Edhi (no degree) and Senator Sardar Israrullah Zehri – he of ‘burying women alive is part of our tradition’ infamy (who purportedly has a degree although it’s highly suspect) – who in your educated opinion has the welfare of the people at heart?
But as a nation we always ask the wrong questions — whether of our parliamentarians or prospective sons-in-law. Do they come from a ‘good’ family? Good often being a highly subjective term. Are they rich? Do they have a high-quality education and a good career? Are they influential? They could beat up our daughter on her wedding night for all we care as long as he has a job in a bank or a multinational.
If I ever have the opportunity to grill a potential son-in-law, I would want to find out about his character and his values, not his bank balance. Is he an honest, decent man? Will he treat my daughter with love, care and respect? Will he make her happy? These are surely questions worth asking of our leaders too? Instead of looking at their educational qualifications we should look at their character and moral fibre. Will they look after us? Will they treat us with care and deference? Are they honest, decent men?
Unsurprisingly, this parliament of cheats rescinded the degree requirement in April 2008 not out of any genuine desire for meritocracy but to save their own skins. Perhaps a new law should take its place, a law which doesn’t bar entry to those without privilege, family ties or money. Maybe this law could instead demand an independent audit of all our parliamentarians’ assets and their tax returns from the start of their adult lives. Anyone who fails to pay their taxes or who is deemed to have knowingly, grossly and fraudulently ripped of the state will be barred from political office. However, you don’t need a degree to know that such a law will never be passed and for now we can start by asking the right questions of those we choose to elect.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2010.
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Reader Comments (46)
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Such a wonderfull Artilce Written by George Speacially The Third Para of This Article lolz :)Recommend
Morals go down the drain when a kid is out from college and wants to start a decent earning.Recommend
Oh my, oh my, George Fulton!Recommend
Raisani has clearly proven ill-suited to run a ghusalkhana – well said George. I like your writings.
Character and moral fibre is similarly important in all our leaders.
George I don’t know what visa yo’ve got, but can you please please become a Pakistani national so that you can stay longer and could teach us some good.
Thank you.Recommend
Look, man! It’s 21st century, don’t you think so? You’re terrorizing me for real!Recommend
We definitely don’t need a degree to know that such a law will never be passed! It’s true that degrees don’t matter when you expect somebody to be honest and decent enough to represent you. But the crux of the matter is that these individuals chose to take the shortcut…the question of a valid degree is of principal, a law that was to be followed, which they blatantly refused to follow. What’s more shameless is that the likes of Jamshed Dasti have been re-elected after being declared liars publicly.
Well written!Recommend
this is right that most of the pakistanis are illiterate and its undemocratic to make such a law. but still thses people should be punished for lying and betraying our trust and vote.Recommend
Wonderful article George!Recommend
aA question for you George..
What will happen if university administration also align with fake degree holders???Recommend
Raisani sb. stole the show on this one!Recommend
Fantastic’Recommend
Getting degrees and passing exams doesn’t qualifies a person as a good leader! Nice write up ! i hope things do get better in PakistanRecommend
Gud work George, it really is a brilliant article!Recommend
It is considered more a threshold to enter the house, now days, but has nothing to do with it. Actually, the degree requirement is settled here, since the educational system followed in this world (and also in this country) primarily suggests that a person, having an authentic documented proof of having studied from a reliable institution is more likely to be a representative of his people. Further, it has been approved and accepted as a form of education (that is currently being transmitted in our institutions), therefore, any person, getting qualified from any of such selected institutes, should be considered a valid candidate for representing the masses.
What Mr. Fulton is suggesting is quite abstract in its nature i.e. assessing a person from his character and deeds. Up till now, there is no standard procedure present for that (not even in entire world) to happen, which further suggests and confirms that ‘knowledge’ (which is a reflection of one’s educational career) should ONLY be taken as a scale to measure person’s reliability and validity. Unfortunately, there is no other scale of personal reliability or validity, which can be practically incorporated within the current political system of this country!
Finally, the assertion that none of the great historical figures (excluding G.W. Bush and G. Raisani)had a degree is quite laughable in its nature, since it can be counter stated that: what’s a common factor in their teachings? EDUCATION and KNOWLEDGE! Yes, they all strongly asserted that education and knowledge should be obtained!Recommend
Comparing the position of Edhi and Zardari is baseless – so the question of whether you’d want Edhi or Zardari on the presidential seat is baseless as well. That’s because Edhi’s responsibilities/duties are different. The level of cognitive ability required to run a country is different from that of running Edhi foundation.
It should be taken for granted that goodness and honesty will be there. Not just from a person being nominated for a parlimentarian seat, but for everyone. It is not optional, it is required. So, sanity check on a person’s goodness when he is being elected is quiet absurd.
Now on the other hand, running government (or a seat) requires adequate knowledge. Like a job interview. MPA/MNA is not a matter of emotional attachment, its a matter of job requirements. An education minister’s seat need to have a specific set of requirements and should only be given to the person who fulfills those requirements (or for that mater any ministry). Those requirements have ‘knowledge of the domain’ as one pre-requisite. That probably is only going to come if you have sound education and an original degree.
But like I said, goodness and honesty is not optional. So far, it is for us, hence the verification of degrees. There is no place for trust here.Recommend
One of the most refreshing posts i have read by far on the subject. Well done George!Recommend
George, until you started writing I always took you very non-seriously. You were the white boy with the desis and the media running after you. But I recently saw parts of your George ka Pakistan and now have starting to read your writings, and you’re quite an interesting guy!Recommend
Bhuat bariya, likin explain in one lineRecommend
Regarding that rule of requiring degree, what surprises me the most is the silence of “educated representation” meaning MQM in the National Assembly. Not a single voice from their party against the law which they approved in alliance with Mr. Musharraf. What a useless representation from educated side.Recommend
Wese, Fulton ka Pakistan!!!, I must say! A warm Analysis. :)Recommend
Very nice, worth reading; please do open heart surgery of all other govt officials too :PRecommend
@Dear George! Bohat Alla! Love your article. Degree or no degree doesn’t matter… thing which matter most is missing… not only in politics but in our daily life too.Recommend
I absolutely agree with George , Well written . Quite nicely put!Recommend
“Anyone who fails to pay their taxes or who is deemed to have knowingly, grossly and fraudulently ripped of the state will be barred from political office”
Haha..this will hardly leave anyone eligible to take up political office!
Very well expressed George, well done! :)Recommend
Another good articel by one of my most favourite writers George Fulton.May I cite another example of a degree holder the former DCO who is under arrest on the charges of corruption whose brother as a chairman of HEC is busy in secrutinizing the worth of parliamentarian’s degress.George I must call you a surgeon who is perfroming surgery with the stroke of his pen.It is not less than a scalpel.Recommend
Ahaha! Very Nice!Recommend
No offense/pun intended but because there is Queen, Bill Gates, Harry S Truman (who by the way decided to nuke Japan (who remembers the Little Boy and Fat Man) with a death toll of around 250,000 living men, women and children), Steve Jobs and bunch of others could be easily pinned as exceptions. Because there are exceptions/freaks, it would rule out a need of more aware/educated parliament/society?? I know George, this is not what you are saying. Political wisdom is not what you teach at Harvard or Yale law school, it is what comes to an individual through sheer sensitivity and local exposure towards society. (Plato would have disagreed though, his criteria for a politician in ‘The Republic’ is far more stringent then our ‘politician-without-a-degree’ account). If I had more time, I would have loved to drill it down further.
Education changes societies and an educated parliament is likely to catalyze the process. You cannot stop the freaks anyways, they rise to the surface, just like an exception does. Freaks are sovereign of any education/political system, though you are more likely to produce more freaks if you have decent awareness (read decent education). I know, it is kinda oxymoron, but you get the idea.
You know how they deal with flocks of sheep, they hire a shepherd and a dog. (Do not read it ‘pro musharraf rant’, he was an idiot who lost an opportunity).
PS: Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla, Howard Hughes, Sergey Bin (Google) were all graduates. I can assure you that there were more graduate projects who changed the way we live today (errr.. Facebook). Also, Harry S Truman is not one of the best names, I’d want to quote. Rather go for George W Bush (He caused less casualties)…Recommend
Dear Fulton you are 100% correct as It is said ” The dilema in a our society is that many people are their, where they should’nt”.
Many people have the ability to do much then their acadamic acheivements but they are not accepted nowhere even for a sweeper job, where primary is the compulsion.
There should be a proper mechanism through which people for different circles be selected, according to their abilities not paper(tigers).Recommend
INDEED!! George,don’t you think Raisani’s ‘JOSH’ weighs a whole Full Tonne? ..haha. Excellent article(as usual).Recommend
excellent article, same like degree for MP,s, ur excellent analysis and thoughts are limited to less than 1% of Pakistani People who can read and understand you. you are doing great job, really appreciated.
can i please ask ur email add?
tcRecommend
Well…..as they say: “Ask no questions, you’d hear no lies.”
I personally don’t ask a question I know isn’t gonna be answered. It just wastes my time.
Anyways, the article was a good read.Recommend
I think Metric degree should be must :)Recommend
such a wonderful article, very well written, points are exactly leading us to the loophole, interesting and understandable..
Good Job George.. After a very long time I have seen a Masterpiece!
Keep it up buddy.Recommend
purpose of the degree requirement was show education which is supposed to build values and characters.
Your article is well intended but lacks thought…you still do not mention the real ‘Right Question’, which is to ask the voter to be educated not the candidate. The adult suffrage and present system of democracy is a white-man’s burden put on us which he took 1000 years to develop and wants uneducated people of developing world to adapt and adopt at his whim.
There should be overhaul of election system and only two types of people should be allowed to vote i) educated – at least matriculation or high school, And ii) tax payers.
Such a condition will automatically ensure that those who vote either understand what they are doing or have a direct stake in the governments. It will force politicians to invest in the education of their constituencies and encourage them to increase tax net.
Our current parliamentarians are nothing but a reflection of a large mass of uneducated electorate.
Quaid-e-Azam in his early speeches leading to independence listed 3 things that Pakistan will focus on, in order of priority
1) Superior Education
2) Strong Economy
3) Formidable Defenses
– We have go this list upside down for the last 60 years.Recommend
Very well said Geroge ….. BTW do you have a degree … if not .. you can also get one and be one of the ruling elite :)
Back in 2007-08; I remember working with a ruling party Senator… one of the few who had left with some patriotism, honour and prestige …. chalking down words for the PPPP ….. and the much emphasis was on the “5E” agenda personally unveiled by the late Benazir Bhutto.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\121\story1-12-2007pg1_5
5E PPP manifesto unveiled:
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chair-woman Benazir Bhutto launched on Friday her party’s manifesto for elections on January 8, but reiterated that she was taking part in the polls under protest, AFP reported.
“Our policy is based on five E’s – employment, education, energy, environment and equality,” the former premier said.
….. We all know the reality of Energy now…. so now PPP Government is working on Education as part of its manifesto … aagay aagay daikhiyae hota hai kiya.Recommend
what can u expect george, the majority of us are crooks, cheats. we never pay our taxes, we bribe officers, we are involved in all sorts of ill=human behavior and best of all, we do not realize the power of our vote.
Having said that, your article raised some very important questions which really show where, as a society, our priorities lie.Recommend
To George’s wish of allowing only good people to participate in elections, I’m reminded of this one which my father narrated. When Air Marshal Asghar Khan started his new party back in 70′s he met Khan Abdul Qayum Khan,a grand politician of the time . Qayum Khan asked the Air Marshal that he had heard about his new party and wanted to know how was it doing, to which the Air Marshal replied “Fine, we are taking in only good people”. At this the Old Guru smiled and quipped “Pher tow bohut chhota party hoga”Recommend
I worte the words of my heart. But now we have to wait and see as they got fake degrees so our law says that any one found with fake degree they must be punished for 3 yrs prison . Is their any Maye ka lal who give them 3yrs prionsed.Recommend
I like ur articles. You have a good sense of writing and analyzing the situations. Rest assure you will be followed by me.Recommend
George… taree kya baat hai bhai…. well said…
But… just like you need to be qualified to perform open heart surgery or fly a plane-load of people… you need certain qualifications to sit across the table with representatives of the IMF and talk numbers with them… to meet with G7 diplomats and discuss the WTO and its long term implications on the future of Pakistan…. to impartially weigh the pros and cons of bulding water reservoirs… to evauate the revisions necassary in the national currculum to develop human resource that suits the needs of a changing world…. I mean ofcourse not every policy maker and politician in the world is a technocrat but for a country like Pakistan… a country which if it were human would be diagnosed as suffering from brain cancer and shifted into an ICU…. we are in need of special care…. and once we are in the league of developed nations we can take our risks the those who are not formally educated…
Our education system is dillapidated…. there are as many fake degree holders as there are those with fake marks (from cheating or bribing examiners or getting someone else to sit for exams)… to say that its alright for a crippled banana republic like Pakistan to be run by un-educated fraudsters and expect them to make ….laws, policy decisions and
regulations to enable us to compete globally is asking a bit too much… two images come to mind…. one os from a film called POLICE ACADEMY…. and the other I dont remember the name…. but the scence had chimpanzees running the control room of a nuclear power plantRecommend
Dear George, I invite you to study the Cabinets of The Federal Republic of Germany [post war]?Recommend
veru nice and thoughtful!Recommend
Degree does not make a man, gentleman. Similarly a woman with a degree, not necessarily become a gentlewoman.
Degrees are meant for the people who would like to become an employee of a government office or a private concern.
There the bosses see whether the incumbent has necessary qualification and capable to work in an office where degree is a must to understand day to day work. Productivity of an employee can also gauged a lot whether an employee is a degree holder or not.
The knowledge and information of an undergraduate is equivalent to a graduate person, therefore, while contesting election; it is not a must that the candidate should be a degree holder to become a legislator or a parliamentarian.
Some politicians with no degree are sharper comparing to degree holder. And this applies in every field of life.
Let’s not make fun that non-degree holders cannot become part and parcel of democratic process and if they do not posses a degree, they do not qualify to become a legislator. Every single person can participate in the election process whether he or she is a degree holder or not?Recommend
@ Syed Mateen
“There the bosses see whether the incumbent has necessary qualification and capable to work in an office where degree is a must to understand day to day work. Productivity of an employee can also gauged a lot whether an employee is a degree holder or not.”
So you are basically saying that it is okay for people who are not capable to work in an office to enter the parliament or hold government positions??
Secondly, no one is criticizing the fake degree holders for being uneducated. It is the fact that they cheated and dishonored the trust which people gave them due to which they are being criticized. This whole article was a piece of nonsense….just like other articles of Mr.FultonRecommend
Very interesting and sarcastically written, hope it works on the right people.Recommend
fully endorsed but the non degree holders will no read and decipher as they continue to be a bunch of illiterates – like the Taliban (Talib meaning students – of what?)Recommend