| January 14, 2002 | Monday | Shawwal 29, 1422 |
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Education: quality first
PRESIDENT Musharraf has finally taken decisions that most people inside and outside Pakistan thought had long been overdue. Even though both friends and foes had expected him to act with firmness to check lawlessness in Pakistan under religious cover, even his most ardent admirers had not expected him to act so swiftly and decisively. In one go, he has banned no fewer than five religious militias, put a sixth on watch, laid down rules for regulating and regularizing madressahs and mosques and declared emphatically that Pakistan would not allow anyone to use its territory for terrorism anywhere in the world. Characterized by bluntness, and supported by solid arguments and references to Islamic principles, the speech came across to his listeners as honest and well-meaning and one that gave a well-measured response to the nightmarish law and order situation in the country. Moreover, the speech served to address international concerns about the activities of some terrorist organizations in Pakistan.
Most of the organizations banned on Saturday had made no contribution to Islamic causes, whatever they were; instead, their leaderships were responsible for assassinations, bomb blasts, and attacks on places of worship. More reprehensibly, these organizations were guilty of exploiting the people’s attachment to their religion by inciting them to violence and sedition. Last year alone, as the president pointed out, no less than 400 people fell victim to these parties’ terrorist actions. There is no doubt that the banning of these five parties and militias — Jaish-i-Mohammad, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Sipah-i-Sahaba, Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi and Tehrik-i-Jafria Pakistan — should have a salutary effect on the law and order situation in Pakistan and lead to a return to socio-economic normality the people have long been yearning for.
However, while reining in these militias — they had become a state within state, as he put it — President Musharraf averred that the crackdown on the militants was motivated by Pakistan’s national interests and that he was acting under no foreign pressure. Nor should anyone believe that a hard line against terrorists meant a compromise on Pakistan’s foreign policy objectives, especially the cause of the freedom of the Kashmiri people. “Kashmir runs in our blood,” he said, and told Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee bluntly that if there were to be peace and harmony in South Asia, “the Kashmir dispute will have to be resolved peacefully through a dialogue on the basis of the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.” At the same time, the president appealed to the world community, specially the US, to play an active role in resolving the Kashmir dispute for the sake of peace and harmony in the region.
The president did not refer to the massing of the Indian army along Pakistan’s border and its war-like moves, but seemed to call India’s bluff when he said the Pakistani armed forces were quite capable of defending the motherland. A clearer indication of his resolve not to give in to baseless Indian demands was his stand on the list of the 20 men wanted by New Delhi. The president said there was no question of handing over any Pakistani to India. Nevertheless, he sounded reasonable when he said his government would itself try anyone found involved in terrorist activity if evidence were provided.
The president’s speech was wide-ranging and dealt with a number of specific problems concerning mosques and madressahs, the misuse of the pulpit, the registration of all mosques, the need for an NOC for a new one, the responsibility of mosque committees for the imams’ utterances, the existence of foreign students and the need for proper documentation, and scores of other points. Obviously, these are measures whose beneficial effects will take time to be felt. It would be childish for anyone to expect that the measures announced on Saturday would right a situation that has existed now for more than two decades. Initial reaction in Washington and London has been favourable, though clearly world capitals will take time to react officially. One hopes India would study the president’s speech cool-headedly and grab the opportunity to make a move towards easing the present state of confrontation. Any negative Indian reaction is bound to disappoint those who hope for peace in South Asia.
AT a high-level meeting presided over by President Musharraf on Friday, certain far-reaching decisions were taken on the future of higher education in Pakistan. Among the string of measures suggested to revamp this sector was the decision to raise the number of years of study before awarding a bachelor’s degree. It was decided that a degree should entail 16 years of study rather than the traditional 14. This step, it was argued, would make the Pakistani degree acceptable to foreign universities. As things stand, Pakistani graduates are generally not allowed to enrol in a master’s programme in most foreign universities; instead, students from this country possessing a bachelor’s have to start from scratch and acquire a foreign degree before being admitted to a master’s programme. This devalues the local degree to the status of the British A level. This perhaps explains why a growing number of Pakistani students opt for A levels, rather than a BA or BSc, before proceeding abroad. While the government’s decision to increase the duration of study for graduates is welcome for the tiny minority of students intending to study abroad, it is fairly meaningless for the vast majority trapped in an hopelessly inadequate system of education.
What the government needs to do is to make efforts to improve the quality of education rather than burden the student with two more years of schooling. In the third world context, this also entails more expenses, for which every family may not be ready. More years of education, but of a poor quality, is likely to simply increase frustration among most students as well as lead to an even greater drop-out rate. The sorry truth is that standards of higher education have dropped so precipitately in many institutions that the degrees are no longer worth the paper they are printed on. This is the crux of the problem. While the government has announced the creation of a higher education committee to promote quality education, it has to do much more to stem the rot in our universities and higher education institutions, particularly in the government sector.
Radical measures, such as a total overhaul of the outdated and irrelevant curriculum for many subjects, ought to be the government’s top priority. It is only by carrying out certain fundamental reforms, such as improving conditions for teachers and undertaking a major reorientation of the education system, that Pakistani graduates will be able to compete with the best in the world. It is not just the students that are to blame for the appalling across-the-board drop in standards. Many Pakistani students are able to thrive in foreign universities because of the stimulating environment there. The blame for deteriorating standards simply rests with an education system that has failed to keep in step with the times and is unable to inspire and excite questioning young minds. The government must keep in mind this stark truth before embarking on any large-scale reform of the system. The real need of the hour is for better, not more, education.