| December 25, 2003 | Thursday | Ziqa’ad 1, 1424 |
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Dialogue on education
Blood transfusion risks
THE warning given by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday that the country will face price pressures in the next six months needs to be taken seriously by the government. In a quarterly report released on the country’s economic performance, the bank has predicted that since interest rates have bottomed out, there is an expectation that these will start rising soon. If interest rates rise, the cost of a number of goods and services will also rise as a consequence. Already, the common man has been burdened by consistent hikes in the prices of edibles as well as essentials like fuel and gas. The added burden comes at a time when poverty in Pakistan is on the increase, with one-third of the country’s population living below the poverty line.
Some of the other issues discussed in the ADB report also call for attention. While the government has been quick to claim that the economy has experienced a turnaround in the past four years, whether this is a one off situation or an achievement of lasting import remains to be seen. The ADB is of the view that the increase in foreign inflows is a temporary phenomenon and it is up to the government to build on it or continue to rest on past laurels, with results that are all too predictable. There are several areas to which the government needs to give more attention. The ADB report points to the poor performance of public sector organizations as well as low tax collection figures for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. It may be pointed out that almost all public sector organizations saw a change in their top management after the military takeover in October 1999. But the performance of these organizations continues to be below par. Public utilities such as Wapda and the KESC are a good example. Both continue to suffer from the very problems that they were afflicted with at the time of the change of management. These include colossal financial deficits as well as high transmission and distribution losses. No significant improvement has taken in these areas of the two utilities’ operations.
The report also talks about investment. The problem of law and order as well as political uncertainty has kept both domestic and foreign investors wary and shy. The causes of their reluctance to invest need to be tackled on a priority basis. Another area that should be given more attention is exports. Pakistan needs to diversify exports so that the fortunes of the country’s export trade do not depend excessively on one crop alone. The government also has to work on educating and preparing exporters for the commencement of quota-free trade from 2005 onwards under the directives of World Trade Organization (WTO). Once the trade and tariff barriers are removed, major buying countries are expected to reduce the source of their textile imports to just a few countries. Prior to this, they were inclined to import from a variety of countries. For Pakistan to take advantage of this and also to remain a major player in the field, it has not only to understand how these changes will affect its textile and other exports but also to operate in a highly competitive and open world market without any self-created issues. The ADB report advises the government to snap out of its complacency and start to function pro-actively on issues that need immediate attention for the country to continue to do well economically.
THE Higher Education Commission’s decision to hold back implementation of the Model University Ordinance (MUO) and the proposed tenure track system of faculty appointments and instead seek a dialogue with public-sector institutions is a sound one. It also probably reflects the realization in policymaking circles that it would be a good idea if the ordinance were first passed by the assemblies so that its implementation could have greater moral and public backing. The MUO has attracted more than its fair share of criticism, especially among university teachers who fear that the new law will target them unfairly and threaten their academic livelihood. The HEC, which earlier seemed to be steamrolling the proposals contained in the MUO, believes that the ordinance is necessary if we are to see any improvement in the quality of higher learning institutions in Pakistan.
In this debate, one would endorse only those whose intentions are above board, that is, those who have only the betterment of higher education in mind. Keeping that in mind, one would have to say that there are some teachers and professors in our universities who do have much to lose if the proposals contained in the MUO were uniformly implemented. However, this would be because of their own failings and not because of any personal agendas that the ordinance might be seen to carry. One is talking here specifically of the non-serious attitude towards teaching and research found in abundance among many teachers and professors in our institutions of higher learning, especially public-sector universities. As for the MUO’s detractors, their argument that the ordinance would lead to a situation where much higher fees would be charged taking higher education beyond the reach of ordinary Pakistanis also has some substance to it, since one aim of the ordinance is to give considerable financial autonomy to educational institutions in terms of fee structure and payment to faculty. Given that both sides have some justified arguments, it is heartening that at least the differences will be settled through dialogue. At the same time, both sides would do well to keep in mind that the objective of the whole exercise should be the improvement of our higher education system.
PARTICIPANTS at a seminar held in Karachi the other day warned of the high risks involved in blood transfusion if the blood being transfused is not properly screened. This, warned the delegates, could lead to patients contracting highly contagious diseases like hepatitis B and C and HIV. The seminar was informed that the incidence of unscreened-blood transfusions runs as high as 80 per cent of the total cases. Among the 20 per cent screened-blood transfusions, only a small fraction of blood conforms to World Health Organization standards. These should be some very worrying facts for the health authorities in Pakistan where the options for millions of under privileged patients in public hospitals are severely restricted. These include thalasaemia patients as well as others undergoing surgery or recovering from chronic diseases.
Problems associated with blood transfusions are not just logistical. While the basic facility is available at most district-level hospitals and clinics across the country, it is the lack of awareness among the paramedical staff as well as the general public about the dangers of using unscreened blood that needs to be addressed. Unavailability of standard screening equipment and expertise needed to vet donated blood for harmful pathogens is an additional factor. A third factor that adds equally to the problem is that the majority of donated blood comes from professional donors, many among whom are drug addicts and, therefore, pose a greater danger of passing on contagious diseases. The situation calls for a well thought-out policy on blood transfusion. This, coupled with an awareness campaign by the health ministry, can help reduce the dangers associated with blood transfusions.