PM House into University: Well Done Mr. PM, but…

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Before the General Elections 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan committed in several interviews and media interactions that he would neither stay in the PM House nor would enjoy VIP protocols, as well as he would reduce the gap between the government and public. Recently, as promised, the official residence of the Prime Minister has been established into a university.

On 21st December, addressing the inaugural ceremony of  Islamabad National University and talking on conference on “Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for Pakistan,” Prime Minister said that for a country to progress and develop, education was crucial, and assured his full support to Higher Education Commission and reiterated his ambition to provide quality education to all.

The former PM House is located at the main Constitution Avenue, covering an area of 135 acres, and have luxurious apartments. It seems meeting the required infrastructure for a research institute.

This is heartening and one must say well done. However, I would like to seek your attention, Mr. PM.

The land and infrastructure are somewhat less relevant as compared to other burning issues in education, especially in higher education. Excluding a very few institutes, the majority of them are providing substandard education. For instance, here’s a reality check: how many students in Pakistan were able to pass Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and IELTS, English language test for international study, migration and work?

The number is embarrassingly very low. It reveals how Pakistani students are adversely lacking mastery in subjective knowledge. While talking about the quality of higher education, Dr. Farhan Saif, a professor of Physics at the leading national institute Quaid-i-Azam University, has remarked:

“On one hand, incompetent bosses invent ways to kill research programs in different departments. For example, by letting them get registered as directed by the chairman or director and not letting them  registered with worthy and competent colleagues. On the other hand, greed to collect money in the name of PhD students gives an incentive to opportunistic professors to register students with them to maximum limit and with junior colleagues in any number possible, trading unjust academic favours and tailoring admission committees.”

These overbooked students are treated in an unethical manner by the local setup of universities. It happens usually in the form of non-serious attitude towards coursework, corrupt examination system, poor or zero invigilation, engineered referee reports and nepotism in awarding grades. Plagiarism, which is considered as a menace in the research world, helps in producing a large number of low-quality PhDs by such self-proclaimed big shots, who eventually become a disgrace for the nation.

A new term ‘academic misconduct’ is introduced in place of plagiarism and self-plagiarism is named as ‘academic neglect’ — that is to generate an illusion in the eyes of public and to dilute the intensity of academic crime — eventually which shows that we are living in a fool’s paradise.  Will it be ensured that this practice doesn’t take place in INU?

Changing PM house to a university is a welcome step. Well done Mr. PM, but another matter seeks your attention.

A few years ago, a renowned political figure robbed and occupied hundreds of acres of land of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. Would you please inquire about it from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and make the culprits accountable? Also, would you take notice of current adverse infrastructure of QAU? When I checked into QAU, I found that the campus was covered with dogs, cows and donkeys. Departmental lawns were mainly in deplorable condition, only a few were attended by few feeble weeders. The floor of many avenues connecting various internal places were bumpy and muddy.

Your interest in improving education is appreciable Mr. PM, but still a lot needs to be done.

Will poor students from the hot deserts of Sindh, from the cool mountains of Gilgit, from the devastated land of FATA be enrolled in INU. Many intellectuals and studious students did not get a chance in other national reputed institutions due to their high fees. Will INU be any different?

Your intention seems upright Mr. PM but,

The basic requirement of the local research program is to solve the problems and challenges faced by a country by its own people locally. Unfortunately, our local faculty in higher education institutions and universities is least concerned with this purpose. Instead of becoming a beacon of knowledge, most of them are busy in self-projection and are interested in making money by writing low quality papers in higher numbers.

Will INU become the research institute of International standard? Will it provide a Post-Doc platform to national and international scholars? The gradual decline of higher education over the last fifteen years has promoted a culture based on greed and nepotism. The intolerable academic corruption in our universities has become a daily routine. Will INU be free of it?

Well done Mr. PM but,

Student groups based on ethnicity or faith keep fighting with each other in various universities, and as a result the educational institutes have become battlefields. Pakistan has failed to develop a university culture since independence because academic values, morality, and basic notions of justice have been ignored. The student unions should provide a platform for students to engage in social and educational activities and defend their rights at the same time

Dear Mr. Prime Minister: conversion of PM house into INU is a great triumph in the land of the elites. You mentioned Bait-al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom), a major Abbasid academy set up by Khalifa Haroon-ur-Rasheed, which gives one hope. However, based on the points raised in this article, it seems just converting PM house to a university will not be enough. Much more, including Education Emergency is needed to bring necessary reforms.

The writer, Irfan Khan, is a Researcher of Natural Sciences at Physics Department, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He can be reached at ik8828903@gmail.com