KARACHI:
On June 23, 2006, India’s Hindustan Times published an article titled ‘Pak threat to Indian science’. The opening line of the article quoted Prof. CNR Rao, chairman of the prime minister’s scientific advisory council, saying that, “Pakistan may soon join China in giving India serious competition in science”.
It was heartening to read these lines on a pamphlet distributed at the ‘Save HEC Committee’ press conference at the Marriott hotel on Friday. Such was the contribution made by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in taking Pakistan’s higher education to the international arena, with renowned academics and scholars praising our success, said HEC’s former chairman Dr Attaur Rehman.
Dr Jamshed Hashim, a PhD scholar who returned to Pakistan in 2009, recalled the time when he was still a student. After his Master’s in Chemistry from the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, he had not imagined that he would be able to go abroad for further studies.
“When the applications were invited, I submitted one hesitantly, thinking that only those with some ‘source’ would be selected,” he said. It was much to his surprise when he was not only selected, but made a finalist to complete his PhD in microwave-assisted organic synthesis, an emerging science with industrial application.
“It is these people who succeeded with their hard work who will be affected,” said Barrister Shahida Jamil. Giving a legal overview of the issue, she said that the 18th Amendment has brought back administrative control in higher education, which suggests that there will be more political interference in education at the cost of merit.
Terming the move “a total fragmentation of education”, she explained that the HEC’s functions will be passed on to the Cabinet Division, Islamabad Capital Territory, ministry for inter-provincial coordination and the ministry of foreign affairs. Now, the cabinet division will be responsible for the standard of education, managing issues, such as equivalence of degrees, verification, standards of doctorates, etc. Similarly, the process of degree verification of lawmakers and public servants will now be handled by the cabinet division, she added.
According to Jamil, the universities located in Islamabad and its vicinity will fall under the Islamabad Capital Territory while the foreign scholarships will be administered by the ministry of inter-provincial coordination. The welfare issues of those students on scholarship abroad will be handled by the foreign ministry.
The government has decided to mutilate the HEC, despite the fact that higher education is not included in the Concurrent list. “We are evolving towards four different states, very soon we will have four different criminal laws, four different civil laws and four different education systems,” she said.
Dr Rehman agreed that the step to devolve the HEC is a “monumental disaster of a horrendous nature”. It is an illegal and unconstitutional step as Article 70.4 Federal Legislative List’s parts 1 and 2, fully protect higher education as a federal regulatory authority and an autonomous body, he explained.
“It’s a federal subject in most countries including India, Malaysia, the UK, Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and China. It is also a defiance of the Supreme Court decision that a new body, working directly under the cabinet division, will conduct the verification.”
Dr Rehman pointed out that the vice-chancellors of all public sector federal and provincial universities also stand by the HEC. All 72 vice-chancellors unanimously resolved in November 2010 that the HEC must continue to function, he said. This move will affect us financially as well as the World Bank will not give its $300 million in aid.
The $250 million in aid from USAID will also be affected. Both these amounts have already been put on hold and are likely to be withdrawn, he added.
One of the participants said that, “although I am not a beneficiary of the HEC, I oppose its devolution because I know that will devalue my degrees in the international market”. “In a politically governed environment, who will ensure the rights of deserving students?” he asked. “We, the citizens, should realise who we should listen to a bunch of illiterate, feudal-minded politicians or internationally acclaimed intellectuals, who are experts in their fields.”
According to Dr Attaur Rehman, the negative impact of devolving the HEC will be:
Ongoing 1,000 research projects on important issues of Pakistan would stop
Graduating PhD students from across the world would have no entity to coordinate with when they return
Nearly 5,000 indigenous scholarship programmes would be transferred to provinces in some manner yet to be determined
The Pakistan Education and Research Network providing high-speed inter-connectivity between universities and to the internet would stop. The digital library programme would also stop.
All programmes linking research activities among Pakistani universities and between universities and industry would stop
Federal recurring and development funding of universities chartered by provinces would cease from next year, while the provinces have clearly indicated that they do not have the requisite funds available for universities
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2011.
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