Pakistan now has over 70 public and a similar number of private universities, and most have MPhil and PhD programmes. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) deserves the main credit for this rapid and ambitious growth of higher education in Pakistan. However, a degree programme at a university can only be as good as the availability of well-trained faculty, research equipment and funds for supplies, and for the faculty and students to have work visits to institutions with world-class expertise in their fields of interest.

There is a severe shortage of trained faculty, especially for PhD programmes, at most of the Pakistani universities. This is one critical area in which Pakistan should actively seek assistance from its allies from the developed world. Economic and technical aid of this type will dramatically facilitate the improvement of the graduate degree programmes as well as of the bilateral relationships with the developed countries not only at the government level but also the individual level.

At present, the shortage of trained doctoral faculty at Pakistani universities is so bad that, at many institutions, fresh PhDs from other Pakistani universities recruited as lecturers are being assigned to mentor PhD dissertations of two to four students. This prescription will lead largely to PhDs who are severely compromised when competing with graduates from the developed world.

The Government of Pakistan, through the HEC, can and should address this problem by (1) making postdoctoral training readily available to its doctoral faculty in established institutions in developed countries, (2) borrow qualified faculty members from developed countries for a period of five to 10 years who can help develop and improve the PhD programmes at universities in Pakistan, and (3) develop a 50/50 programme where a Pakistani PhD student spends 50 per cent of the five-year study at a university in a developed country and the remaining 50pc at a home university, and receives a joint degree. This joint degree will ensure that the degree meets the academic standards of both the foreign and the Pakistani universities.

There is no reason why Pakistani universities cannot also host foreign students in the 50/50 programme. The stay of well-trained students from developed countries can be an enormous source of fresh research ideas, discussions and opportunities for future collaborations between the students and faculties of the foreign and Pakistani universities. Many foreign students, especially from the United States of America, would be very interested in the opportunity to learn about Pakistani culture and language and do research on global issues and scientific problems. Such a programme can also reduce the financial burden of educational expenses of a foreign student, which are usually many-fold higher for the same education in Pakistan.

HEC has indeed initiated a majority of the programmes outlined above in one form or the other. However, at present, these programmes are at too small a level to meet the needs and have a little impact on the improvement of higher education in Pakistan. A high priority status and a major effort from the Prime Minister’s office are required. Fortunately, in the current government, Foreign Advisor Sartaj Aziz, the former foreign minister and former rector of the Beacon House National University, Lahore, who understands the importance and the urgency of improving higher education in Pakistan is ideally suited to head this effort on behalf of the government. Could you please do so Mr Aziz?

The writer works for the Promotion of Education in Pakistan Foundation, Inc., USA.

info@pepfoundation.org