Hijacking education
Chief minister needs to realise that the argument for centralised education
Higher education is under direct attack in Sindh. The Sindh Universities Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 is a tool to smother the autonomy of universities by red tape and government dictates. The law not only transfers control of public universities and degree-awarding institutions from the governor to the chief minister but also allows the Sindh government to tweak and control policies related to admissions, appointments and removal of officials, including the vice-chancellor.
The unprecedented change hands enormous powers to the chief minister of the province, enabling him to install administrators outside academia as vice-chancellors. Many in the academic community fear that this unchecked authority will allow the government to meddle with academic policies and procedures that will eventually impede the standard of education at universities. The chief minister needs to realise that the argument for centralised education, driven and controlled by the government, is beginning to be seen as bankrupt all over the world. The process of policymaking and leading an academic institution must always be the responsibility of academic councils. These bodies must be empowered to lay down proper procedures for instructions, research, examination, admissions and to regulate and promote the academic life of universities. Unfortunately, the Sindh government’s authority to interfere in academic affairs will only compromise the quality of the already exhausted state-run universities. Governments and politicians are required to provide real and lasting independence to the education sector and demonstrate the enduring importance of education that is free from political control, free from the red tape and dictates which most commonly promote chaos.
This ill-conceived move proves that the Sindh government believes that anyone can run a university and that anyone can do it better than those who have been professionally trained and spent decades in the profession. It is a fallacy that will severely impair academic institutions in the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2018.
The unprecedented change hands enormous powers to the chief minister of the province, enabling him to install administrators outside academia as vice-chancellors. Many in the academic community fear that this unchecked authority will allow the government to meddle with academic policies and procedures that will eventually impede the standard of education at universities. The chief minister needs to realise that the argument for centralised education, driven and controlled by the government, is beginning to be seen as bankrupt all over the world. The process of policymaking and leading an academic institution must always be the responsibility of academic councils. These bodies must be empowered to lay down proper procedures for instructions, research, examination, admissions and to regulate and promote the academic life of universities. Unfortunately, the Sindh government’s authority to interfere in academic affairs will only compromise the quality of the already exhausted state-run universities. Governments and politicians are required to provide real and lasting independence to the education sector and demonstrate the enduring importance of education that is free from political control, free from the red tape and dictates which most commonly promote chaos.
This ill-conceived move proves that the Sindh government believes that anyone can run a university and that anyone can do it better than those who have been professionally trained and spent decades in the profession. It is a fallacy that will severely impair academic institutions in the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2018.