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The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has recently decided to change the methodology in giving ranking to the country’s private and public sector universities and degree awarding institutions. Now, the ranking of all these institutes will be made department-wise instead of at the institute level and would be announced at the end of the current academic session. Prior to this, the ranking was assigned on the basis of university level. The principle was that the universities and institutions were categorized according to their disciplines and nature, and then they were classified, but now the ranking will be assigned on the department level. The criterion has been changed at the request of the universities and degree awarding institutions as most of the work and research carried out by different departments had not been recognized individually and the university was given a rank on an average contribution of all the teaching departments. The changed criterion will not only change the rank of the departments/universities but also create a wave of competition as the teaching departments which did not pay heed towards research, publications, conferences, seminars, etc. will now be anxious about their contributions. Without any contribution, the departments will not be given any rank or their rank will be low, so to improve themselves and to show their performance, they will resort to research activities.
Of 500 universities, there are only two in the Muslim world; the first one is in Turkey and the second university is in Egypt and both of these are near
the 500th. |
Although 60 years have passed, the universities of Pakistan have not yet come up to the mark. No Pakistani university was included in 2007’s list of eminent universities of the world. No doubt, this is painful for every Pakistani as the country has become a nuclear state but still no university of the country meets the criterion of becoming a standard university to be included in the 500 universities of the world. In the list, USA’s Harvard University is at the top while Great Britain’s Oxford University stands second. Out of the 10 topmost universities of the world, the remaining eight are also in the United States. Out of the first 20, most are in the USA. Of 500 universities, there are only two in the Muslim world; the first one is in Turkey and the second university is in Egypt and both of these are near the 500th.
Universities are not only institutions of higher education but they are also centers of propagating, promoting and projecting knowledge and arts, researching in all fields of education, and publishing research conducted in different fields. Although education and training is provided in schools and colleges as well but conducting, publishing, and proliferating research is considered the responsibility, to a large extent, of universities. Universities publish their research in the form of articles, research papers, conceptual papers, surveys, theses, dissertations, etc. in top class recognized national and international journals. Academically, it is an unquestionable fact that universities where neither first rate research is being conducted nor research is being published in any distinguished journal of the world do not have the right to be called universities. First rate research in science and technology can bring about an industrial revolution in the countries, can change the destiny of nations, and can earn the universities’ popularity across the world.
There are two types of research in universities: the first one is that which the teachers do themselves and the second is that which they supervise. The second type of research, which is carried out by the students under the supervision/guidance of their teachers is, in fact, for the partial fulfillment of their degrees. In universities, only teachers who have Ph.D.’s are allowed to carry out both types of research. Although those who do not possess a Ph.D. are not disqualified but they can supervise any research of Masters level. In fact, the Ph.D. degree is a permit to conduct research or supervise research independently. This degree is also the highest degree at the university level. The Ph.D. scholars of distinguished universities of the world are offered employment in different universities and research or scientific institutes against very attractive packages but their demand goes up and universities feel proud to hire them if their research has been published in prominent journals. Top class research and its publication in first rate journals of the world not only enhances the status and eminence of the researcher but also elevates the position, standard, and rank of the university or institute the researcher belongs to. The universities reach the apex when their research staff members are bestowed with the Nobel prize in recognition of their matchless work in any field. The Nobel prize laureates become super stars and their eminence lives longer. They not only boost their own status and that of their parent organizations but also enhance the position of those who are conducting/have conducted research under their guidance. For this purpose, the affluent and financially strong universities start a tug-of-war to hire the Nobel laureates against very attractive packages.
Today, in eminent American universities, several Nobel laureate professors are serving as teachers and research scholars. It is also a fact that in an affluent country like the USA, for top class universities to acquire a high ranking, they become rival to one another and this rivalry is life long. There are certain universities which earn a name in such rivalry - Harvard University and Yale University are popular in this regard. Similar jealousy exists between England’s Oxford and Cambridge universities. Not only the institutions but also the students and alumni of these universities possess such rivalry. When the reasons of jealousy and rivalry among universities of the developed countries are Ph.D. and Noble Laureate professors and faculty members, what would be the status of universities of developing countries which cannot hire such scholars due to financial reasons?
Pakistan is a poor country whose priorities include the development of education and science. Due to widespread poverty, Pakistan has so far not become an industrial country. Some 20 years ago, there used to be 20 universities in Pakistan but the number has now gone up to 60. Almost three years ago, the country’s universities used to produce 30-40 Ph.D.s every year but now the target of producing 100 Ph.D.s per year has been set. To attain the goal, some of the teachers of universities are supervising around 40 Ph.D. students at a time. In the rest of the world, it rarely happens that so many students might be researching under the supervision of a teacher. It should be kept in mind that when a very few Ph.D. degrees were being awarded by the universities of Pakistan, their standard and quality was not up to the mark and of international standard. Then how can it be possible that the quality of such degrees that are being awarded in bulk quantity would be of satisfactory standard? No doubt, the quality of Ph.D. research conducted under the supervision of Pakistani faculty hired from foreign countries by the HEC would be of international repute but if Ph.D. degrees are given out in bulk quantities, their reputation will always be dubious.
The planners of Pakistan’s science and education should keep in mind that Pakistan does not need a large number of feeble universities. A developing country like Pakistan cannot afford this burden. When universities are not provided with funds for research and teaching, when there is an acute shortage of high class Ph.D. teachers, when there are no equipments or necessary chemicals in the laboratories, then how can these universities benefit the country? It is correct that the funds which are being provided to the universities today by the Higher Education Commission were not available during the last 60 years, but our problem is that we cannot utilize the funds properly.
Today, what we need is to bring our universities up to international standard in all respects. We should discourage the practice of opening new institutions as when new universities are opened, the highly qualified and able teachers of old institutions join the new ones against very high salaries and other benefits. Hence after setting up new institutes, progress and development in the old ones is stopped. It would be more beneficial that if a new subject/discipline is intended to be introduced, instead of opening a new university, a new department should be opened in any of the existing universities of the country. Moreover, a policy should be adopted of the merger of departments instead of splitting them. In the country’s universities, there are still more than one department of more or less the same nature and they are also harming one another.
In Pakistan, there are a few first rate institutes of science, medicine, and education of international repute. This is not enough but there are also such institutes where students of Europe come and complete their research for a Ph.D. The Pakistani nation can, undoubtedly, be proud of these institutes, but our country needs many more such institutes. The secret of success of such institutes is that the people who work there are dedicated and have a keen interest to work without any fear or greed. The laboratories of these institutes, with respect to facilities and equipment, are better than the institutes of European countries. We need to shape all the departments of our universities on the pattern of such model institutes so that the reputation of our universities can be earned internationally.
