| June 13, 2006 | Tuesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 16, 1427 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Higher education allocation
Charter of Democracy
Water for twin cities
Tutor registration
KU fees and foreign students
Israeli strike at beach
Sabotage & train tracks
Drive against air pollution
Bush on Zarqawi
Ghost schools galore
‘Fundamentalist challenge’
I WAS disappointed by Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee’s column ‘Laughing at ourselves?’ (July 11). The author has used so many words to say so little. Back in my university days, if I was asked to summarise the article in a political science course I would do it as follows:
“I have stirred up the anger of both those who complain about Pakistan and those who praise it (i.e. virtually everyone), but they are wrong and I am right because Pakistan ranks low in international esteem, therefore hardly anyone wants to have anything to do with us. The government’s decisions are terrible, especially given the fact that Pakistan is already lousy in every way, even private American institutions have more money than us. As mentioned before, the government is evil and incompetent, so decisions made by it are of course detrimental to Pakistan. Here is a list of every head of state in Pakistani history. In case you could not tell where I was going with this article, most of them were also bad.”
No one living in Pakistan needs to be told that the country is plagued with problems. On the other hand, everyone would like to hear some realistic suggestions for improvement. For example, Mr Cowasjee’s assertion that no one except a few oil-rich Arabs would risk investment here can be used as a prompt for such a suggestion. Analysts from every developed country maintain that solid infrastructure is the key to national progress. This is a major area of investment by oil-rich Arabs. A single investment of $100 million by one of these individuals in, for example, mineral exploration and extraction does more for Pakistan than a foreign company’s $100 million investment in setting-up luxury retail outlets that increase the flow of capital from poor to rich countries.
Instead of calling defence expenditures wasteful and asking who would be crazy enough to want such a lousy country, the columnist should ask himself how many countries, that are barely 60-year-old, have fought so many bloody battles, and that too with a neighbour that has annexed so much of its land? In a world where might is right, military superiority is the universal goal. After all, why else is the US worried about China’s increased defence spending and reacting by increasing its own spending?
Finally, the author’s comparison between Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and Harvard University’s endowment is illogical given Pakistan’s age, domestic strife and bloody history with India. This is in no way comparable to Harvard’s 370 year-old history as a bastion for elite intellectual development, active fundraiser, and recipient of widespread community support. While I respect Mr. Cowasjee’s perspective as an active public commentator, I find many of his comments to be more brutal than brutally honest.
OWAISUDDIN AHMED
Chicago, USA
THIS is with reference to Mr Sher Baz Khan’s article ‘Higher education at primary cost’ (June 7). Mr Khan is unduly worried about higher education taking up the primary education’s share of spending. In fact, the figures given for lower-level education in the recently announced federal budget are essentially for federal-level education, i.e. imparted in Islamabad and federal territories, whereas the higher education federal budget caters to higher education of the entire country.
The major allocations for lower-level education come from the provincial budgets and there are negligible allocations in provincial budgets for the higher education sector which is almost entirely met from federal sources. The figures quoted in the federal budget, therefore, give a distorted view of the actual situation. In the current year’s budget the total allocation for education was Rs160 billion, recurring plus development, federal plus provincial, of which Rs138 billion was spent at lower level and Rs22 billion was spent at higher level.
It is expected that about Rs190 billion will be available for education during the next financial year, of which about Rs30 billion will be provided to the higher education sector. This means that about 16 per cent of the total budget is going to the higher education sector while the lower education sector rightly gets the larger share, i.e., about 85 per cent of the total chunk.
The international norms for countries such as France, Sweden, Japan, Canada and the US are about 30 to 40 per cent at the higher level and 60 to 70 per cent at the lower level. Thus the higher education sector needs to get a two-to-three-fold increase to reach international standards. Clearly, both lower-level education and higher-level education have to proceed together. The present low level of funding in the higher education sector, in spite of the recent significant increases, is reflected from the fact that the budget of a single university in Malaysia is over Rs30 billion, while that of the National University of Singapore is Rs50 billion. In comparison, the budget of all 60 public sector universities taken together amounts to Rs11.2 billion. So there is a long, long way to go even by good Asian standards.
The government has rightly decided to systematically increase the budget for the education sector from the present 2.4 per cent of GNP to four per cent, of which one per cent will be allocated to the higher education sector, so that both lower and higher level education sectors can be developed in a balanced form.
AYESHA IKRAM Higher Education Commission
Islamabad
THE Charter of democracy that reads like a prize-winning undergraduate essay has evoked different responses. The optimists see in it a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Others, aware of the record of the two luminaries who signed it have a different view.
Both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif twice held the post of chief executive. But they did none of the wonderful things now promised. Apologists of both aver that they never enjoyed full powers. But nobody can deny that they enjoyed full powers for making money. The fortune of Ms Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari is estimated at $1 billion plus by knowledgeable quarters, and the fortune of the Sharifs cannot be much less.
The problem of good governance and attacking corruption can only be solved by a healthy civil society which can only evolve after we abandon the fiction that Pakistan was achieved in the name of Islam and is, therefore, religious state.
This slogan was launched by a military dictator and joyfully embraced by the confessional parties. At that point in time the combined voting strength of the said parties was six per cent. After years of official patronage, it has now risen to 20 per cent though I doubt that figure. The vast majority of Pakistanis are Muslims and Pakistan will always be a Muslim state. A Muslim state in the sense that Egypt, Algeria, Malaysia, Indonesia are Muslim states.
In reality there are only two religious states in the Muslim World, i.e., Iran and Saudi Arabia. The former is a shia theocracy and the latter a Wahabi theocracy. Our history and traditions are totally different. We must, therefore, return to the original concept of Pakistan as enunciated by the Quaid. Only by taking this route can we begin constructing a healthy democratic polity.
BIRJIS HASAN KHAN
Karachi
THE decision to bring drinking water from Ghazi-Barotha for the twin cities seems quite flawed. Why is the CDA addicted to repeating mistakes to no end? We have seen how wasteful the project to bring water from the Khanpur dam proved to be. The expenses and the time spent on that project did not bear any good results. To any sane engineer, Ghazi-Barotha scheme is such a ditto copy of the Khanpur scheme and will bear the same disappointing results. Why doesn’t the CDA have ability to see a little farther in the future and make real practical plans to assure adequate supply of drinking water to the capital.
To a technical mind, the obvious choice is the river Jhelum. We can pipe water from the Jhelum around the Kohala area via the New Murree valley and drain it into Simly and Rawal lakes. A huge expenditure on building new reservoirs, pumping stations and filtration arrangements will thus be avoided. All we require is a pipeline through a developed terrain and may be of a length measuring 20 to 30 kilometres at the most.
The river Jhelum can supply water for many, many years to come. Let us not make repeated follies to simply repent later on. Let us learn how to plan for the future in an economical manner and with guaranteed results for a long future. It is about time we make some progress in our planning systems to keep up with the advancing world.
DANYAL IBRAHIM
Rawalpindi
THROUGH these columns I want to draw the attention of the Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, towards our problem. Some time back the AIOU invited applications from candidates for the tutor registration scheme. I also got a tutor registration card. Then I visited the regional coordinator’s office at Karak many times to get tutorship for any of the courses offered by the university but got no positive result.
It has been noticed that tutorship is given to favourites. In this respect no rule and regulation is followed. I put forward some suggestions in this regard.
First, tutorship should be given on merit through written test and interview. Or tutorship should be given on a turn basis. If a tutor has been appointed in a semester, he should be left out for the next semester so as to give a chance for the next candidate.
All this process should either be controlled by the Islamabad head office or by the regional office in different cities but not through regional coordinators.
I hope the authority concerned would take positive steps to end the discontent among the tutors.
QASIDULLAH
Latamber
I WISH to convey my disgust at the manner in which the Karachi University (KU) is trying to fleece MD (Medicine) and MS (Surgery) students from foreign countries. My sympathies are with them for their misfortune of opting to enrol themselves in this university of a ‘brotherly’ country.
Few people must be aware that the tuition fee for a postgraduate foreign student is Rs400,000 per annum; with three years’ average training period, amounting to a whopping total of Rs1.2 million. This amount is exclusive of admission processing and examination fees. The tuition fee for a local student is Rs28,000 per annum. While fixing the said tuition fees, perhaps the authorities concerned were hallucinating, hoping that students from the US, UK and other like countries would be falling over each other to get admission to post-graduate studies in medicine at KU.
This came to my knowledge recently when I was asked to look at the final MD thesis of one of my old students from Yemen. The research was carried out at the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre, Karachi, and the effort that had gone into producing this brilliant work was simply amazing. I was so impressed by his work that I wanted to congratulate him in person, but he was nowhere to be found.
On inquiry I was told that he had gone back to Yemen leaving his MD incomplete as he lacked financial support and was unable to pay the KU dues. Being a self-respecting young man he left quietly without seeking help from anyone. We had produced a good potential neurologist who could have served our Yemeni brethren well and I was anguished to see a premature end of the aspirations of an outstanding and hard-working young doctor. Had one an inkling about the reason behind his decision to return to Yemen, his friends and well-wishers would have passed the hat around or organised a fund-raiser to collect the whopping amount for his tuition fees.
I wonder if this attitude of the KU is known to the members of the Board of Advanced Studies and Research, the KU’s Academic Council, the KU’s Dean of Faculty of Medicine, University Grants Commission, ministry of education, ministry of science, other bodies concerned and the public at large. Such phenomenal fees may be a norm for private and commercial institutions but one is amazed at such conduct of a public institution.
Having been a medical teacher all my life (paid by the federal government and not by the KU), with training of students appearing in KU examinations a part of my job profile, I have failed to comprehend the justification for charging tuition fees from medical students by the KU.
What has been or at present is its contribution towards teaching medicine? There is truly no medical academic teaching activity whatsoever at the KU for its medical students. So why the tuition fees? In the sphere of medical education the KU is only an examining body and is only justified in charging the dues for conducting the examinations and awarding degrees.
PROF HASAN AZIZ
Karachi
IT was extremely heart-breaking to see the grim pictures of atrocities meted out to Palestinian civilians by an Israeli air strike. There was a little girl crying hysterically around her father’s corpse. Her screams were agonising. Her family was enjoying a picnic when this air strike took place.
Now Hamas has decided to avenge this attack and has dissolved the peace. but vengeance is what the Israeli forces want. They provoke the Palestinians by committing such air strikes and the Palestinians react by carrying out suicide attacks. Then the Israeli government claims to the world at large that they are protecting themselves from terrorism, even though the biggest terrorists are in the Israeli cabinet.
Instead of mounting a counter-attack the Palestinians should show these atrocities to the world via the media. May be the world powers will take notice that another holocaust is being committed thanks to Israel’s technical weapons and strong economy. Now is the time to use rationale versus emotions. At this point all that Muslims can do is make monetary sacrifice for the people of Palestine so that their children could at least get basic commodities of life and ease their uncertainty a little bit.
Since Muslim countries cannot stand against this aggression because of their corrupt leaders, they need to make a lot of progress in order to reform their own countries’ defective systems before they can offer any help to the Palestinians. The most Muslim countries can do right now is to offer refuge to the people of that occupied country. Instead of raising a jihad we need students to be well equipped with education so they can take care of the responsibilities and build a better future for the upcoming generations.
ALI A. MINHAS
Chicago. USA
TRAIN tracks are being sabotaged and their fish-plates are removed, causing unsafe situations. According to a recent news report, the Pakistan Railways is considering welding of the fish-plates to the tracks, eliminating this possibility.
Modern train tracks are welded together and the length of a single track is 400 metres against the current run length of 10 to 12 metres. This not only reduces maintenance but it also makes the journey smooth. In Japan bullet train Shinkansen runs on welded lines. If we replace our current train tracks with the upgraded materials, the chances of sabotage will be reduced 40 times.
S. NAYYAR IQBAL RAZA
Karachi
IN response to a court decision, anti-air pollution drive was initiated in Karachi with tremendous enthusiasm. However, the drive lasted for only a few days. The buses, trucks and rickshaws are back on the roads emitting the smokes.
Is this not contempt of the court?
MANSOOR KERAWALLA
Karachi
“ZARQAWI’S death will not end the war,” says Mr Bush. He’s absolutely right. Violence in Iraq will end only when US and other foreign troops leave Iraq and let the Iraqis run their country.
SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to your editorial ‘Ghost schools galore’ (April 18). In spite of all that has been written about the poor state of education in Pakistan, the situation has not improved and an entire generation is going to lose one of the most important and precious gifts in life, education.
The lack of basic education is going to deny them the opportunity and knowledge that is needed to meet the challenges of the new millennium. And a nation that denies a child quality education, closes the door to a better future for that child, its family and of the nation, as education plays a vital role in the destiny of a nation, its progress and its survival.
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uganda and India in their technology information development are classic examples of success, where their governments have realised that the only way to improve the quality of life of ordinary citizens and break the shackles of poverty, bigotry and intolerance is to educate the young.
A visiting BBC education team has described our government schools as stables. Unless the government takes a hard look at its education policy and gives it a priority, we will continue to be a nation of illiterate, ignorant and intolerant people, ill- equipped for the 21st century. And the ‘enlightened moderation’ that our leaders keep harping about will not have a ‘ghost of a chance’ to become a reality.
HAMID MAKER
Karachi
IN his article entitled ‘The fundamentalist challenge’ (June 11), Mr Tahir Mirza says about the Quaid-i-Azam that “as a confirmed secularist, he had the courage to declare that religion had nothing to do with the business of the state”.
This is putting words into Mr Jinnah’s mouth. What he actually said was that whether you go to a mosque, a church, or a mandir “had nothing to do with the business of the state”. He was in fact talking about religious freedom and non-discrimination, which he believed to be consistent with Islam. I am disappointed that a person of Mr Mirza’s calibre should have been so imprecise.
I also respectfully remind him that Mr Jinnah was the leader of a movement which divided India on the basis of religion. On March 22, 1940 Mr Jinnah concluded his presidential address to the famous Lahore session of the Muslim League with the words: “Come forward as servants of Islam, organise the people economically, socially, educationally and politically”.
A ‘secularist servant of Islam’ sounds like an oxymoron.
ASAF ALI SHAH
Lahore
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.