Universities in Pakistan are attempting to produce doctoral graduates out of ill-prepared undergraduates and that is a prescription for failure (‘We need more doctors in this house’, Dawn, Nov 3, 2013). The undergraduate education, which is mostly provided at colleges, is one of the most neglected sectors of higher education in Pakistan.

Higher education in Pakistan has been going through tumultuous periods and major transformations since 2002 when the Higher Education Commission (HEC) was duly established to improve its status. While the creation of HEC generated an enormous interest and attention and considerably facilitated improvement of education at universities, colleges have been left orphaned — seriously neglected and at times subject to outright deterioration. They are unable to provide a quality education to their students. One could have foreseen this problem but not much has been done to address the plight of colleges.

This neglect which is seriously jeopardising the success of higher education in Pakistan was pointed out almost six years ago in an article (‘A call for commission on undergraduate education’, Dawn, Jan 27, 2008). Now that the cost of this neglect over the years has reached a crisis level, it is hoped that the new administration will fix the situation by establishing a commission for undergraduate education, which can have the intellectual vision, financial resources and authority to set up national standards and curricula for the undergraduate degree programme.

Although the colleges operate under the administration of district and provincial governments, they must be required to meet national standards of quality, core curriculum, broad-based curricula and research and practical training in the form of internships. Colleges have been identified as the weakest link in the whole chain of education in Pakistan (see PEP Foundation’s 2006 report The Weakest Link: A Report on Undergraduate Education in Pakistan at http://www.pepfoundation.org/symposium2_index.html).

The major causes of the low standard of college education in Pakistan have been identified as (i) lack of college autonomy, vision and poor administration, (ii) lack of sufficient funds and facilities, (iii) outdated curricula, (iv) inadequate basic education, (v) outdated methods of teaching, learning and faculty development, (vi) lack of assessment and quality improvement mechanisms, and (vii) lack of learning techniques that require and inspire critical and creative thinking.

College education has serious consequences for the whole education structure. Without a major reform and a serious commitment to improve college quality, all the other levels of education will be severely handicapped. Universities and higher education institutions are receiving inadequate and ill-prepared students who need to fill in the gaps and catch up on what their college education missed, rather than focusing on advancing their learning and research. At a time when human capital development is one of the best and most critical resources for Pakistan’s development, colleges should raise their productivity and quality level to support professionals, technicians and students that will excel in their graduate studies.

The 2011 Tertiary Education Support Project for Pakistan, a major five-year programme effort supported by a $300 million loan from the World Bank, includes college reform implemented by a collaboration of the Higher Education Commission, the Federal Directorate of Education, provincial bureaus of curriculum and affiliated universities. However, given the severely weak status of colleges, several layers of control and the need for a more controlled and longstanding structure, a onetime effort is not sufficient to make the needed changes.

The commission on undergraduate education must be established by an executive order of the Prime Minister to work collaboratively with HEC, federal and provincial governments and foreign aid agencies to radically change the status of colleges. The World Bank report (2009) recognises improvement in the higher education sector in Pakistan since the establishment of HEC as a “rebirth” of the sector. It also emphasises that “ignoring colleges that enrol one out of three students at the post secondary education level is a grave error; their situation in terms of quality is even more desperate, their lack of resources is even harsher, and their governance arrangements are even less adequate than in universities”.

A well-funded, independent commission on undergraduate education may be able to elevate the quality and increase the capacity of colleges into autonomous institutions, assist in achieving the standards so essential for both college-level education and for the ongoing success of students and universities. The commission must oversee all administrative and governance issues as well as ensure policy matters such as including research and one to two semesters of internship programmes for undergraduates.

It is vital for the improvement of the whole education system in Pakistan that undergraduate education rises to international standard quality and such a major investment requires dedicated leadership, generous funding and a committed structure.

The writers work for the Promotion of Education in Pakistan Foundation, Inc.,USA.

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