Higher education for the next 70 years

Pakistani institutions of higher learning should rest on three pillars; quality, access, and independence

Seventy years ago, the number of universities in the newly created Pakistan were less than a dozen, and remained inaccessible to broad sectors of society. While progress has been made in the last seven decades in the higher education sector, but not nearly as much as we would have liked. But increase in number alone cannot be a metric of success. In some cases, it is hard to argue whether any real progress has been made at all. Can we honestly say that on average, our institutions of higher learning produce students of better quality than they did during the first decade? Are institutions more tolerant than they were during the early period of the nation? These questions may be uncomfortable, and the reasons may be complex and multi-faceted, but our ability to do better for the next seven decades rests on rigorous analysis and honest reflection.

As we deconstruct the political, ethnic, religious and self-serving interests that affect our institutions, we must also construct a clear vision of what a modern Pakistani university ought to be, and how it can both be a crucible for academic discourse and a force for national development. In my view, Pakistani institutions of higher learning should rest on three pillars. The first is quality, the second being access and the third is independence.

The issue of quality is the single biggest problem plaguing our institutions. Whether it is quality of teaching or scholarly work, there is a serious gap between what happens at our institutions and what is needed to reach a reputable international standard. We have to move from good enough, to good and very good. A high quality journal article is worth more than a million poor quality publications. Maintaining quality in hiring of faculty and administrators is just as important as recruiting the best students. There have been a string of recent university leaders, at some of our elite universities, who do not meet the most basic criteria of academic leadership. We have to push ourselves to higher standards and do everything in trying to maintain them. This requires concerted effort from faculty, students and university administration that have to set high standards and show the determination never to alter them. This would mean having a high bar in ethics and fairness, in addition to rigorous self-reflection.

The second pillar is that of access. Here, I do not mean to increase access at the cost of quality, but ensuring that higher education remains accessible to those who we have left behind. Urban and rural poor, minorities, those struggling with disabilities are all part of the national fabric and we have to ensure that the university remains committed to its social mission. Higher education continues to be a driver for social mobility and access to quality education can ensure that historically marginalized groups can be a part of a productive national fabric.

The third, and perhaps the most important part, is freedom and independence. Here I mean independence in a broad sense. The university must be independent of the bureaucracy of HEC. It must be independent to chart its own course and set its own vision. It must be free to discuss topics of high national and global relevance and create an atmosphere where ideas and topics can be debated. This may mean creating new models of financial sustainability and philanthropy, but the rising level of intolerance on campus, along with a weak, financially dependent university creates more problems than solutions.

Independence also means freedom from the transient trends of the time. The current fads of rankings, or thinking that sciences alone can offer solutions, are both dangerous to the long-term capacity of the university to create change, and freedom from these fads is critical for inclusive development.

Higher education requires investment of time, money and thought, but history tells us that this investment is well worth it.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2017.

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