March 18, 2007

Academic research in Pakistan can be a piece of cake if you are computer savvy and know where to look for material to lift off the internet,

Munizeh Zuberi reports

A few years ago we all read news reports about a professor at the University of Karachi who had allegedly copied parts of a colleague’s PhD dissertation while writing his own. When the professor, whose dissertation had been plagiarised, discovered this, he was outraged and, understandably, filed a formal complaint. However, in a matter of days, the complaint was withdrawn and the whole affair was brushed under the carpet. The investigative committee’s decision on the matter was very casual and said that the professor in question could retain his title but would not be allowed to publish his dissertation.

The same professor is now chairperson of that department and also routinely appears on national television as a doctor. It is also alleged that he got away with the crime because he is a supporter of the student’s wing of an influential, religious political group. Why the complaint was withdrawn and whether it was done under pressure is anyone’s guess but this incident constituted an academic crime of the highest order and marked one of the lowest points in the history of academia in Pakistan. “It was a very shameful act and I personally was shocked to learn about it,” says Professor Dr Moonis Ahmer of the Department of International Relations, University of Karachi (KU). “When I asked what really happened I was told that it’s a departmental issue and was settled within,” comments another who prefers to remain anonymous. Unfortunately, this was not a solitary incident and such cases continue to plague our universities.

Everyone agrees that the entire education system in Pakistan is deeply and severely flawed. While much is said and written about issues like lowering standards, examination procedures and curricula, plagiarism, which afflicts our higher education, has been largely ignored. The fact of the matter is that plagiarism is a major problem – one that greatly hampers education, in general, and research, in particular. “Plagiary is a major problem in our universities and less than 20 per cent of research is original and legitimate. Most of the original research work is done in the science departments,” points out a lecturer at the Arts faculty of KU.

Students and professors agree that the foremost reason behind plagiarism is the lack of awareness amongst students. Universities fail to educate them about what plagiarism is and what its forms and manifestations are. “Many students are not aware of how research papers are written and how citations are done. Research methodology is not taught in all departments of KU. At this level, it is mandatory that students are well-educated in the same,” says a student of International Relations. “There is little or no realisation among most students that copying verbatim off the internet or a book or a research paper constitutes a crime,” agrees another. The problem of awareness is not limited to the students. According to Professor Dr Tanveer Khalid of the Department of Political Science at KU: “Very few in the teaching community know what research really is and what constitutes plagiarism. They are not given any training in new research methods and are, thus, unable to teach them to their students.”

However, the problem is more deep-rooted than one would like to believe and this became apparent when one spoke a certain professor and chairperson at KU who has also served as the dean of a faculty for several years. When he was asked about his comments on plagiarism in Pakistani universities, he was quick to say, “All of university is plagiarism.” The comment was very shocking and one could not help but ask him to elaborate. What he said next was completely incoherent. He talked about how universities, as a hub of knowledge, provide “plager” to the students and how doing research work was so ‘plagerable’. A few minutes later, the realisation that he was not talking about plagiarism, dawned. Instead, he was giving a sermon on the pleasures of university education.

When I clarified that I was looking for his comment on copying someone else’s work in research and presenting it as one’s own, all he had to say was, “Cheating is bad”.

Universities around the world now have well-defined rules and clear-cut policies regarding plagiarism and they pride themselves in the amount of original research work carried out by them. At the orientation and induction, students are informed about the rules and procedures and the resulting penalties, in case of violations. Intellectual property rights are given very high regard in such institutions of higher learning. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most Pakistani universities. When a professor of science at KU was asked if an anti-plagiarism policy existed at all, he said that “there is no formal legislation. The policy solely depends on who the culprit is.”

Dr Mutahir Ahmed of the Department of International Relations at KU, on the other hand, says that KU has “a board of advanced studies which can send PhD dissertations abroad for verifications but this system can and has been easily manipulated.” With the advent of the cyber age and easy accessibility of information, plagiarism has become an increasingly severe problem. Research papers and dissertations often lack originality and matter is routinely and easily lifted off the internet without citations, often under the pretext of “who will find out”. This has become all the more rampant because, according to a student of philosophy, “many teachers lack enough knowledge in their fields to be able to spot plagiarism.” In some cases, they might be well read but because of little or no computer/internet knowledge and/or motivation and interest in using the same, they seldom, if ever, find that the work is not original. These circumstances all the more require that a policy be instituted and students be made aware of what plagiarism is.

Two things fuel plagiarism — firstly, teachers let it happen unimpeded and secondly, students keep doing it either because they do not know it is wrong or because there is little to deter them. Whatever the reason, the result is that the essential component of research is almost entirely missing from our degrees since teachers tend to rely wholly on the end-of-term examinations. Hence, our degrees are not at par with those acquired from foreign universities.

Plagiarism is most severe at the doctorate level, where much of the research work takes place. Many professors that I spoke to related several incidents in various Pakistani universities. I was informed of one case at KU recently, where the foreign supervisor rejected the PhD dissertation of a certain professor but the board announced that it had been approved and the professor in question was bestowed with the title of Dr. When the actual decision was discovered, a case was levied. However, this professor continues to serve as dean at a university in Sindh.

The situation is alarming to say the least, and according to one lecturer, who is writing her PhD dissertation: “People lacking merit focus their time and energy more on developing links with the ‘influential’ rather than concentrating on the research aspect of things when writing their PhD dissertations.” “Added to this is the fact that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has passed a law which clearly states that teachers will not be promoted beyond assistant professors unless they acquire a PhD degree or are enrolled in a doctorate-level programme. This, according to the same professor, will result in an increase in the cut-and-past culture. “Just ask anybody, with a recent doctorate, what manual or methodology they followed and you will discover the truth about them for yourself. If we let this trend continue, in a few years, our doctorate degrees will become as worthless as those acquired at the Master’s level. Moreover, when these so called doctors step into the international arena, they will expose the entire system,” laments another lecturer. A student of sociology, however, feels that since students are not really asked to “prove” their case (that is, defend their dissertation), just about anything goes, including plagiarism.

If students know that they will be caught and penalised for plagiarism, they would think twice about doing it. Because they know they can get away with it, there is absolutely no fear of the consequences.

Technology, today, allows for easy detection of plagiarism. Universities around the world have developed software through which any material that has been copied off the internet, or past research papers and even books can be detected at the press of a button. Because of this, originality of research can be largely guaranteed. Having said that, this will be of little use if not backed by effective legislation on dealing with the perpetrators. However, “before any decision can be taken against the perpetrators, several affiliations need to be considered which pretty much ties the hands of the administration,” comments a senior professor who chose to remain anonymous.

Sadly, plagiarism is not just restricted to our educational institutions but is also rampant in almost all sectors of society. From journalism to books to movies to music, there is little, if any, regard for intellectual property in Pakistan. On a national level, intellectual property rights are a non-issue and are routinely trampled and ignored and since the academia is essentially a reflection of society, can one really expect it to remain unaffected by the whole thing?

The writer works for Dawn

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