Our intolerant, mediocre campuses

This fascination with discipline needs to end


Kamal Siddiqi September 24, 2018
PHOTO: FILE

For me one of the saddest things is how our universities are run and the level of professionalism that exists in their management. We seem to run universities like they are primary schools. In many instances, imbeciles are calling the shots.

The latest controversy involves National university of Science and Technology (NUST) and Karachi University (KU) where a circular has been issued which states that “girls” (never women) are not allowed in the designated smoking areas where only boys will be allowed to smoke. What could be more idiotic?

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This fascination with discipline needs to end. We cannot tell young adults what to wear, what to eat and how to conduct themselves. Most of these students are over 18 years of age, hold NICs and can vote as well. They are adults. We need to set parameters and give them space. They live in Pakistani society and have an idea of what is expected of them. Universities are places where we learn and experiment. Students have to be given that freedom. Instead, we decide everything for them.

We call them children and treat them like they are in class 10. In some universities, they still have uniforms! While facilities are poor, the rules and regulations are all quite comprehensive.

And we are fascinated at enforcing our own made up rules. At one of Karachi’s business university which has branched out into media and other sciences, a man stands at the entrance gate of the campus and physically checks clothes of girl students — the length of the kurta and such nonsense.

One of my former students instituted a case of harassment against this man who is both obnoxious and spews a dose of religious invective to any woman student who dares not meet his required standards. Nothing happened except that the management threatened to expel the student instead.

At my institution, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), which is known for its discipline, there have been very interesting debates on how we expect our students to conduct themselves.

One senior colleague, who isn’t even an academic, insisted at a staff retreat that we should make sure students “follow our culture and norms.” Women wearing jeans, he argued, was out of the question. Thankfully at IBA there are many level-headed persons, including the Dean, who try and keep things sane.

In this, it seems private and public universities are no different. They are usually managed by control-freaks whose main contributions to the campus are rules on discipline and behaviour. In many of these universities, these administrators do not have the academic qualifications to be in such positions in the first place.

And yet the Higher Education Commission (HEC) looks the other way. Where emphasis should be on academics and research, we are focusing on everything else. Not only is the research output low but the quality of research in Pakistan leaves a lot to be desired. Most of our PhDs are in Pakistan Studies and Islamiat. We barely have one or two research journals of international standing.

Our campuses are usually centres of mediocrity. With some exceptions, most academics have not risen above their petty politics. What we are seeing instead of any attempt at focus on making more and more universities.

Most professional colleges have been turned into universities. In most instances, these new universities have neither the infrastructure nor the staff to manage properly. Instead of a few good universities, today we have hundreds of poorly-run and pathetically-funded colleges disguised as universities.

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But make no mistake — there are millions to be made. Students have to pay heavily to enter one of the better universities. In most instances, the fee charged does not justify the quality of education they get in return. But any attempt at protest or question leads to immediate dismissal of students on grounds of discipline.

When will we break out of our petty thought process and free the minds of our youth? As things stand, we are doing nothing to improve their learning. They have transformed into robots whose only aim is to graduate and move on. They do not question anything around them.

What kind of a generation are we raising? We can see the lack of intellectual discussion. But we are also seeing the absence of initiative. Tunnel-visioned, intolerant young men and women. I don’t look forward to working with them.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2018.

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COMMENTS (6)

Javed Majeed | 5 years ago | Reply Agreed cent per cent with the writer when he says “Most of our PhDs are in Pakistan Studies and Islamiat”.
hamza khan | 5 years ago | Reply agree with the author. the state, or in this case a private institution, cannot and should not under any case try to morally police an individuals private life. the role of the state is to guide that individual to police themselves and hold their ethical and moral standards in line with what is most appropriate. different interpretations of what is moral and ethical will always rear their head in a country like pakistan. that is the challenge.
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