Higher Education on Trial

Prosecutors
Sen. Mian Raza Rabbani and others representing Parliament of Pakistan and other non-parliamentary political parties of Pakistan.

Defendants
Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman, Dr. Javed Laghari, Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Vice-chancellors of all Pakistani universities and students.

Jury
180 million Pakistanis

Judge
N/A

Case for the Prosecution:

Exhibit 1
Degrees of a large portion of parliamentarians belonging to almost all political parties of Pakistan were declared fake even though the people wanted these people to represent them irrespective of their degrees.

Exhibit 2
A large portion of public money was going to Higher Education Commission (HEC). In principle, this money should have been spent according to the wishes of the parliament through programmers like Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) or other popular measures which would increase the voters’ base for the current government.

Exhibit 3
HEC was working against the national interests by spoiling the country’s youth by giving them access to higher education. A sensitive and delicate matter like higher education should be the exclusive domain of the country’s elite. Also HEC tried to eliminate the natural divide between the poor and the rich as a middle class student from a far-off area of Pakistan was able to study in the same university as the urban rich class.

Exhibit 4
HEC tried to reverse the brain drain thus ensuring that qualified people would be sitting on seats of authority in different Pakistani institutes. This was a recipe for disaster as this would eliminate chances of corruption, which is the lifeline of our politics.

Exhibit 5
Dealing directly with international donors and universities thus decreasing chances of any commissions which is the bread and butter of our politicians.

Exhibit 6
As HEC is remnant of a dictator, it has to go.

Witness 1
Jamshed Dasti – a respectable citizen of Pakistan and after proved fake, was elected by his people with a 55000 vote.

Witness 2
Aslam Raisani who is Chief Minister of the largest province of Pakistan. The most famous quote of the 21st century "degree is a degree whether genuine or fake" is his creation.

Witness 3
Babar Awan - who was robbed of his "legal" Ph.D degree due to HEC as University of Monte Cello was not authorized to issue such a degree.

Case for the Defence:

Exhibit 7
Due to efforts of HEC, number of Ph.D produced doubled in the last 8 years as compared to the first 55 years after independence.

Exhibit 8
Surge in the number of Universities, number of publications and research.

Exhibit 9
A number of universities are now among the top 500 in the world.

Exhibit 10
Almost 5000 scholars are pursuing Ph.D abroad while similar numbers are doing it in Pakistan.

Exhibit 11
Increase in salaries for researchers and professors, thus giving a sense of security as well as respectability to the profession that it deserves.

Exhibit 12
Establishment of Digital Library and broadband internet connectivity to universities which gives access to thousands of online journals and books thus facilitating research activity.

Exhibit 13
Stringent conditions for degrees and streamlining the process of equivalence as well as attestation thus giving international respectability to Pakistani degrees.

Verdict: To be announced by the People of Pakistan






(P.S. This is an old post. In fact, this was the post with which our blog debuted on April 12, 2011. But last week the government is again trying to end HEC autonomy so I have posted it again.)