Whither university ordinance?

THIS refers to Zubeida Mustafa’s article, “Whither model university?” (Oct 30).

The task force, the steering committee and later the higher education commission finalized the reform proposals without consulting teachers because the reformers consider teachers as the source of problems.

It is not agitation but government neglect which has already destroyed our universities. Lack of funding and misplaced priorities, like those suggested in the Model University Ordinance, have ruined universities. Teachers’ struggle is quite ‘conservative’ as it tends to preserve what remains of the ruins.

Ms Mustafa has failed to locate the root of government’s approach. The reforms are forced by the government because the World Bank desires so, and are fully funded by the bank to commercialize education.

The World Bank funding is acknowledged in the preface of the report.

The negotiations with the reformers and the past experiences of reforms and privatization have made people suspect everything the proponents promise.

The minister proclaims that the fee would not be raised but up to 10 per cent. The ordinance says that it can be raised even more if the chancellor desires so. They say no one would be put on contract while the ordinance promised performance criteria, new entrants to be on contract and old ones promoted only if they opt for contract.

In the past 13 years one has seen industries, banks, financial institutions, public services privatized or downsized. In each case the government first promised that no one will be sacked but later a large number of them were.

The growing strength of the movement is ignored by Ms Mustafa when she says that “there is no public concern at the ongoing crisis”. It is true that people have not come out on streets in tens of thousands all over Pakistan. This is because the government is selective in implementing reforms so as to divide the resistance.

Ms Mustafa asks the teachers to realize that, “generally speaking, they are held responsible for the declining standards of higher education.” If teachers are responsible for the declining standards, what has the state done? Teachers are only a part of the whole education process. Education is the responsibility of society, which should come up with ideas in this regard.

A new university ordinance based on the 1974 Act, which was formulated not by teachers but elected representatives, is needed. Ms Mustafa ignores the role of the state and democracy in huge enterprises such as education and health.

It is indeed time the model university ordinance was discarded as a failed project. Reforms from above can only succeed when they enjoy public support.

Dr RIAZ AHMED

Secretary, KUTS,

Karachi

Breaking the deadlock

THE principal actors in the present political stalemate are Benazir Bhutto, the collective leadership of the MMA and the PML-Q. The last four weeks have brought them no closer to an understanding.

Whether it is private TV channels or newspapers, they seem to be going in circles without an end in sight. The PPP is bargaining with the MMA only to put pressure on the government to accede to some of its basic demands, including the return of Ms Bhutto and release of her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who has as yet to be convicted in any case. Mr Zardari has suffered the longest incarceration of a political prisoner.

Attempts by the ARD and its indefatigable leader have failed to bring the opposition parties together. The demands of the PPP and the MMA appear irreconcilable. But assuming for argument’s sake that a deal is struck, there is a strong chance that the military will refuse to transfer power to this coalition. And the PPP would much rather be on the right side of the ruling junta and by implication of the US rather than risk its political future on the expediency of coming to power on the coattails of clergy whom it has derided in the past as obscurantist and, therefore, fit to be kept at bay.

The PML-Q, usually referred to as the king’s party, will do government’s bidding even if it is a deadlock they desire. Recent statements of Zafarullah Jamali lend credence to this assumption. He expressed his determination to carry on a dialogue only on the condition that he is accepted as prime minister. Maulana Fazlur Rahman has staked equally stubborn claim to the office. They both have refused to budge from their respective stands.

And all this could yet be averted if the most powerful political player accepts the need for a peaceful withdrawal from the political scene and allows the political process, howsoever flawed, to run its course. For this to happen the self-serving egocentric mutilation of the Constitution will have to be undone and transfer of power allowed to the people. After all it does not require Einstein to tell us that this country belongs to the people.

S. S. HUSAIN

Islamabad

Walton housing scheme

The government announced in January 2001 a housing programme, under the auspices of the Pakistan Housing Authority (PHA), for all major cities of the country.

Unfortunately, the PHA has failed to complete even a single apartment as per its promise. All its projects are still incomplete, causing a number of problems to the allottees who include people near retirement, people living on rents and expatriate Pakistanis planning tso return home.

Recently, the PHA wrote letters to the allottees of the Walton housing scheme in Lahore, informing them that their allotments had been cancelled, though they had made full payments.

The reason given for the cancellation of allotments is that the PHA has struck a sale deal with the Pakistan Railways with regard to the apartment scheme and, therefore, now these apartments cannot be handed over to the allottees.

At the time when the people were hoping to get possession letters, they were given cancellation letters. May I ask the PHA if there is any moral or legal justification for such an action?

If the PHA was unable to sell all the apartments in this particular location, it was not the fault of the people who had put their trust in this government- sponsored scheme.

Anyone who knows about the real estate market can confirm that if the PHA had undertaken a proper marketing and pricing, all these apartments could have been sold in a few weeks.

Why should the people, who have paid all their dues and waited for almost two years, suffer because of the incompetence of the PHA?

It is requested that a proper investigation be carried out into this matter and the allotees be given possession of these apartments without further delay.

TARIQ IRFAN

Lahore

Kasi case and our sovereignty

THIS is with reference to the report that Aimal Khan Kasi would be executed on Nov 14.

At the time when Aimal Kasi was arrested in Dera Ghazi Khan by FBI agents with full support from the ISI, he was immediately whisked away and within hours was put in a Fairfax County prison in the US. Isn’t it a shame that one of our countrymen was brutally beaten up by American agents on our own soil?

Aimal Kasi is being punished because the victims were Americans. Would the Americans be having similar enthusiasm in the cases where the CIA and the FBI were involved in the killings of citizens and political activists of other countries?

Everybody knows what the Americans have done in Vietnam, Latin America, Libya and at other places. Are they prepared to hand over the perpetrators of crime to these countries? Would the US extradite commander Will Rogers of the Vincennes that blew the Iran Air airbus out of the sky over the Persian Gulf on July 3, 1988, killing all 290 people on board? There was no mistake that it was a deliberate act of murder against innocent civilians.

I would like to know why our government cannot even plead for Kasi’s sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment. We have countless examples of how governments come to the rescue of their citizens in such matters. The case of the British nurses in Saudi Arabia is still fresh in our minds.

SHAFIQUE UR REHMAN

Peshawar

A teacher remembered

On 14th of November, 33 years would elapse since Prof L. A. de’Sousa, former principal of D. J. College, died. His was a great life, nobly lived: great indeed, in the greatness of its simplicity.

Prof de’Sousa was well-known for his liberal views and high principles. He enjoyed great reputation as a teacher and educationist. His genius and scholarship were recognized by men of learning throughout the country. He adopted teaching as a mission and was able to maintain the dignity of his vocation.

He was born in Karachi on February, 1903, was educated at the D. J. College from where he did his BA (Hons) and joined his alma mater as a lecturer in 1925. He did his MSc in 1933 from the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay. He was made professor in 1945 and principal of D. J. College in July 1955. His active association with D J College from 1925 to 1961 helped raise the standard of teaching and the status of the institution. He gave his students a liberalizing mental training and inspired them with a sense of intellectual delights obtained from knowledge.

To demonstrate his thesis, Prof de’Sousa while principal of D. J. College introduced some of the radical changes that have ever been introduced in any educational institution. Some of his ideas were also adopted later in the new educational policies.

Hardly any member of the teaching profession has been as well known during his lifetime he was. The older he grew, the better known his name became. It was only long after his retirement that his name began to fade from public mind. However, the impression of his personality remains alive in the minds of his admirers and students.

CHAHGTAI MIRZA EIJAZUDDIN

Karachi

Who should rule us?

I suggest that anyone having following characteristics be chosen to rule the nation:

i) He/she must be a citizen of Pakistan and is known for well-mannerism;

ii) must be of 18 years of age;

iii) must have spotless past, and must never have been involved in any unscrupulous activity;

iv) must be conscious of the actual political, economic and diplomatic requirements of Pakistan;

v) must be capable of withstanding pressures and must enjoy working under undue stress;

vi) must possess excellent communication skills, so that he/she could express our viewpoints at international forums;

vii) must be democratic and shorn of the germs of despotism.

ALI JAWAD KHALID

Lahore

Killing of militants: a Delhiite’s view

THIS is with reference to a report that police in New Delhi have killed two Lashkar-i-Taiba activists in a shopping plaza.

Being a Delhiite and working in a news agency here, my instincts tell me that it was a fake encounter staged at the behest of the government of India. Nothing of what the government presented to us as facts seems to have an element of verisimilitude. I believe that our government has sunk to newer depths of dishonesty. That is very sad.

There must have been many such “encounters” that the BJP government has presented to us as instances of security forces killing “Pakistan-trained terrorists”.

Not that I believe that the Pakistan’s government is “doodh ki dhuli”. Both our governments are indulging in propaganda to malign each other.

It is time we spoke loud and clear against our own governments and against all those elements in our societies that are hell-bent on instigating enmity between the two countries. Let us, the great peoples of India and Pakistan, build trust between our countries.

KAPIL BAJAJ

New Delhi

Suspension of students

THIS is with reference to the suspension of 33 A’ level students of St. Patrick’s High School, Karachi.

These students were protesting against the imminent US attack on Iraq, Israeli atrocities in Palestine and the arrest of Dr Amir Aziz in Lahore by the FBI. It was a peaceful demonstration in front of the Karachi Press Club and the students were merely exercising their right to freedom of expression.

Apparently, the action against protesting students was taken as a result of a pressure from the American consulate, as hinted by a member of the school administration. If it is really so, it is very sad indeed.

I surge the administration to take back its decision as it is no crime to exercise one’s freedom of expression.

RUKIYA ASHRAF

Karachi

PTV in the US

WHILE it is a joy to be able to watch now in the United States nice musical programmes of Pakistan Television, it is disappointing to see singers engaged in just lip-singing and musicians only pretending to play musical instruments to a pre-recorded item.

This is a regular practice of PTV. None of the five Indian channels accessible here ever does this.

PTV must stop it. We want to see real music being played and live songs being sung. Art is beautiful but imitation art is just repugnant to good taste.

ASARUL ISLAM SYED

Los Angeles, USA

Exploitation by private universities

I AM an unfortunate student who has done a four-year BBA programme that was introduced by the Hamdard University for those who had passed their matriculation examinations. They took three batches for this programme, and later other universities, including the CBM and the AMI, also introduced similar programmes.

But subsequently they stopped fresh admissions because the programme was found to be faulty and was abandoned.

Now that we have completed this four-year course, we are being told that our degree is not worth BBA in the real sense, rather it is equivalent to just a BA degree. We cannot get admission to an MBA programme anywhere. Even the Hamdard University has not designed a separate MBA programme for us. It is agonizing that after having paid a fee of Rs24,700 per semester, we have received a BA degree.

Who should be held responsible for all this? Are private universities free to do whatever they want to? Is there no authority to watch and regulate what they offer to students?

KASHIF MANSOOR

Karachi

Government by mullas

SINCE the day the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal emerged as the third largest party following election 2002, people have been expressing disgust. Some even want to leave the country in case MMA leaders really come to power. Why don’t we realize that Ulema are a very important part of our lives?

From the cradle to the grave, they render invaluable services such as performing Rasm-i-bismillah and Nikah ceremony and teaching the holy Quran. They lead the five-time prayers every day. They are the ones who also lead Eid prayers, and remain available for Namaz-i-Janaza.

I believe our mosques spring to life because of their dedication and sacrifice, but we are so ungrateful that we do not want to see them in power. We must not forget that they have been elected to parliament by people themselves.

SAFIR A. SIDDIQUI

Karachi

‘I am not a lota’

IT IS interesting but not surprising to see Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, MNA-elect from Rawalpindi, in the PML-Q camp.

A day before the election in a public speech at Liaquat Bagh, he unequivocally announced that if he won the election, he would offer his seat to the PML-N. His actual words were “I am not a lota. After winning I will gift my seats to Nawaz Sharif.”

Now it is apparent that he has gone the opposite way. When will the people of Rawalpindi realize that Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has only been using their votes to advance his personal political and financial position?

BILAL KHAN

Rawalpindi

Commission for human development

IN response to Prof Akhlaq’s letter (Nov 8) regarding projects of the National Commission for Human Development and the Pakistan Human Development Fund, I would like to reiterate that the “strategy” and plan of action of the National Commission for Human Development are based on an integrated holistic approach. That is the most effective way to improve the quality of life and reduce poverty at the grassroots level.

The universal primary education project has three components:

i) 100 per cent enrolment of all children as the first step.

ii) Retention of children to reduce dropout from 50 per cent to less than 20 per cent.

iii) Improving quality of education by providing teacher training.

In addition, the National Commission for Human Development is opening feeder community-based schools, where government schools are not available and where infrastructure of government schools is overburdened.

An adult literacy project (for ages 15-39 years) to be coupled with skills training to enhance household incomes is also being launched in 19 districts.

Along with the education project, a primary health care programme will address basic health needs of the poor with the goals of reducing in-fant-morality, maternal mo-rtality and population growth rate.

To support education, health, poverty alleviation programmes, a national volunteer corps is being created. Volunteers are not paid and are selected from all walks of life, including youth, retired servicemen, teachers, businessmen and housewives.

The biggest need at the grassroots is capacity building of the government line departments, NGOs as well as newly-elected representatives to ensure improved implementation and efficient utilization of resources. That is the primary mandate of the National Commission for Human Development, which is launching a national drive to involve all stakeholders in this public-private partnership to promote human development in Pakistan.

This will focus on governance issues, which are at the heart of all sub optimal results achieved in the social sectors.

DR. NASIM ASHRAF

Minister of State & Chairman of NCHD

Islamabad