The federal government is reportedly planning to evolve and introduce a centralised higher education policy for the whole country. At a meeting early this week in Lahore, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood is reported to have said that the new policy would provide for a uniform curriculum and syllabus for all the public and private universities in the country.
The federal minister also suggested that there should be a single examination calendar in the country and admission dates for all the universities should be the same.
This move on the part of the federal government seemed to be a reflection of the concerns of different circles of academia and intelligentsia who believe that the 18th Constitutional Amendment has left the higher education system in disarray.
These circles have maintained that if the shortcomings and flaws in this politically-motivated doctrine of devolution are not attended to on a priority basis it would cause irreparable damage to the entire system and our institutions of higher learning and the degrees awarded by them may lose international credibility and recognition.
In fact the proposed move, though seemingly in conflict with the dictates of the 18th Amendment, is not new. Disputes between the centre and the provinces over the control, management and regulation of higher education and differences over syllabus, curriculum and courses of studies have been agitated at different meetings of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), during the past few years and since the implementation of the 18th Amendment in 2012.
According to reports in media, the representatives of the federal and provincial governments have in principle agreed during the course of deliberations in these meetings on the issue of a uniform policy for higher education but differences probably remain over administrative and financial matters of these institutions of higher learning in their respective jurisdictions.
Let us pray and hope that sanity will prevail and the centre and provinces will soon take measures to save the higher education system from total collapse.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2019.
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