Killing the humanities in the corridors of science
In Pakistan, the picture of the social sciences at the higher education level is a lot more than just gloomy. The promotion of science or engineering has been the focal point of successive governments and policymakers and the undermining of the humanities is somehow done deliberately. At colleges and universities, the social sciences and the humanities are not treated equally — a fact which is overlooked in the dominant academic corridors. It is no surprise that facilities and financial support that cushions the social sciences and the humanities at public sector universities is almost peanuts when compared with the available resources for the study of the sciences or the management sciences.
Policymakers in education forget that besides natural and scientific capability, we also need minds equipped to contemplate issues of prime importance such as ethics, truth and justice as a baseline for understanding. For instance, menaces such as moral and financial corruption, extremism, religious and ethnic discrimination and terrorism which are eating up the country need the expertise of humanities and social sciences.
By 2012, the number of PhD holders in scientific disciplines was 4,772 — showing almost a threefold increase in 10 years. But at the same time in the same year, the number of PhD holders in social sciences, humanities and business education was 3,304 — slightly more than double of what it was in 2002.
The HEC has always been claiming that it is paying attention to the social sciences as it claims to disburse 30 per cent of research funds for social sciences, though a large part of these funds remains unused. Another problem which has been shared by the senior teachers is the growing lack of interest among researchers in the humanities which is one of the reasons why HEC is negligent towards these subject areas.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 20th, 2014.
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Education sector in Pakistan is a joke. I realized this after moving abroad for both my bachelors and masters right after completing high school (intermediate) in Pakistan. In Pakistan I was told by my experienced teachers to reproduce the text from all course books verbatim in order to have a chance at securing a good grade in the exams. When I moved abroad I had to struggle to understand the concept of 'critical analysis' coming from a 'parrot learning' background. I still remember when I was asking my university professors in UK about which parts I should memorize and which questions I should prepare for and they used to tell me to come to class everyday and partake in the discussions taking place. I still remember how one of my professors told me if I just showed up for class regularly and did the necessary reading for the courses I could easily pass with flying colors. The Pakistani education system inhibits and discourages free thinking problem solving methodology and ask students to memorize concepts instead. The Western education system focuses more on learning by doing rather than memorizing.
Most disciplines in Humanities, do not require lab work. That is why their funding is lower. Anyone wanting to do a PhD, say in History would only have to read books, gather information, talk to historians and analyze and produce a thesis he/she can defend. Some disciplines require surveys which require funding but with the free availability of information these days, it is hard to comprehend why even the university faculty of Arts would not opt for doing research. It is just that they are not inclined that way.