The government must stop the accreditation policy at once.
LAHORE: The policy of privatisation came onto the scene disguised as ‘accreditation’ in the education department in Punjab. It seems mindboggling that some of the most prestigious and well-recognised public institutions, such as Punjab University, are being victimised by immature private organisations through this policy. The plot is so intricate that the executioner for accreditation needs to be accredited first. It seems that public institutions are only being punished for the crime of providing a high standard of facilities to the common people in return for a very little sum.
The accreditation team’s first prey turned out to be the Hailey College of Commerce, Lahore, which was accredited in January against the will of the students and faculty of the college. This shows that the policy is backed by the strong writ of the government. The government must stop the accreditation policy at once. The accreditation process will only make smooth the path of privatisation of public institutions in the education sector, making these institutions change their main objective of providing a high standard of education to the public in an affordable manner. These institutes will only end up worrying about profit maximisation if the accreditation process continues.
Tausif Mahmood
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2014.
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