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| November 13, 2006 | Monday | Shawwal 20, 1427 |
Politics casts its shadow at campuses despite ban
ISLAMABAD, Nov 12: Rulers fearful of students’ radicalism barred political parties from the campuses years ago but politics continues to be talked about there - and so naturally.
A visitor to the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) could see groups of students and teachers heatedly discussing the security and political issues of the day.
For many students the issues have a direct bearing on their studies.
Though they may not have the perfect solution for the disturbing developments they certainly have opinions. What they would largely agree to at the end of their heated discussions that our rulers, as ever, are not inclined to take public opinion into account while deciding issues.
They think that the ruling class has become indifferent to the problems of the masses, be it the back-breaking rise in prices or the humiliation that submission to “the US dictation” brings to the nation.
“Unfortunately, there is hardly anything good to talk about at the national level. Every day the electronic and print media are full of bad news - bomb blasts, killings, kidnappings, rising street crime,” someone in a group of QAU students was heard saying.
A cricket match win by the national team would be something to cheer about for the people in every nook and corner of the country, but alas the recent doping scandal took away that cheer too.
Indeed it was considered demoralising by the group “as it would seriously restrict national team’s chances of winning the world cup scheduled for March next year in West Indies”.
“We really do not know where we are heading for as a nation, and what will be our future,” they said.
A teacher of the anthropology department of the university rued that “some parts of the country are in the throes of virtual civil war but government appears nowhere near a solution.
“Whenever the government is criticised for poor governance, it offers two excuses: one that it is up against extremist elements, and second that it will take every possible measure to establish the writ of the government,” he told Dawn requesting not to be named.
“I believe if the government does not recognise the ground realities and carries on as usual on the issues like Balochistan and the unrest in the tribal areas, our federation will be in deep problem”.
Such state of affairs affect young students minds and their academic performance. Instead of the national integration much talked about by the people sitting at the helm of affairs, the masses were being pushed towards provincialism, he said.
A senior professor of QAU, requesting anonymity, agreed that the students, especially of social sciences, are always talking about what he termed as “precarious circumstances” the country was passing through.
But pessimism apart, a university student is supposed to be able to decide what is right and what is wrong, the professor said.
“We as a nation have started behaving like extremists at all levels, be it government, politicians or people at large,” he said.
A discussion at the national level and based on pluralism was the way out, he said responding to a question.
Currently, the government faces the serious problem of having lost credibility among the people it rules. “They (the rulers) need to take everybody on board so that people should start feeling that it is their war on terror not America’s,” he said.
WORKSHOP: The Higher Education Commission last week organized a two-day workshop on “Exploring Opportunities for PhD and Post Doctorates in Foreign Universities” for the country’s university teachers.
The workshop was designed for faculty members of public sector universities and those interested in overseas opportunities of PhD and post doctorates.
During the workshop, the problems of designing studies in view of available opportunities, data issues and options, common shortfalls, research and exploring opportunities through internet, project budgeting and finalising proposals for submission at appropriate forums were discussed.
Over 30 participants from the local universities were invited for the workshop. The workshop was conducted by Dr Syed Nisar Hussain Hamdani, who had developed the present course for Pakistani faculty members interested in overseas opportunities of PhD, postdoctorate courses and fully sponsored conferences.—Khawar Ghumman
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