For the last several weeks, I have been seeing small news items in the press every second day in which some small offshoot of the Jamaat-i-Islami has been criticizing the establishment of the Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB).

These critics are attacking the new board on several grounds. Firstly, they accuse it of wanting to "secularize" the curriculum; secondly, they charge that it is going to boost examination fees, thus making their exams unaffordable to the average student; and finally, they insist that it is the government's responsibility to administer public examinations.

For some time, I read these reports with puzzlement and concern. Clearly, this was an orchestrated campaign aimed at killing off an excellent government initiative. To find out what was going on, I spoke to several people involved in this attempt to improve our ramshackle public education system.

Firstly, let me say that I have seen the performance of a large number of young men and women who have been through the government examination boards at first hand. As president of a degree-awarding educational institution for five years, I have been appalled by the pathetic quality of the education imparted by the state system.

Worse, kids with first divisions from some of the 26 government examination boards have been incapable of writing two sentences of grammatically correct English.

Then there is the problem of equivalence between the boards: one student with high marks from one board performs very differently from another student with the same grades, but from another board.

To overcome these disparities, most good educational institutions simply do not rely on government board results at all. They set their own admission tests and combine them with interviews.

Some institutions demand that applicants take the American Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) for their undergraduate programmes. I do not recall the Jamaat objecting to this condition.

Then, of course, there is the growing popularity of the GCSE and "A" level exams conducted by the University of Cambridge not just in Pakistan, but in countries across the world. Although these exams cost parents around Rs 20,000, I do not remember the Jamaat taking to the streets in protest.

The reason people are willing to pay this sum is that this exam has a credibility our local board exams just do not have. In contrast, the AKU-EB will charge only Rs 1,500 from non-profit making schools, and Rs 3,000 from private ones.

Next, the Jamaat has accused the AKU-EB of wishing to "secularize" the curriculum. This is the standard charge the extreme religious right levels against anybody who doesn't agree with them.

In reality, the ordinance establishing the AKU-EB clearly states: "The Examination Board shall follow the national curriculum and syllabi." There is no ambiguity, no ifs or buts here. So clearly, there is no hidden agenda here of anybody wishing to revolutionize the national curriculum, even though some of us might wish it passionately.

One thing the Jamaat has not mentioned is that the whole scheme is entirely voluntary. It is for the private schools and for state schools in the federally administered areas to decide whether they want to opt in or not.

There is absolutely no compulsion involved. In fact, for the state schools, it will be business as usual, alas. In reality, the AKU-EB has got involved in this attempt to improve the system in order to improve analytical skills and critical thought, as opposed to the heavy reliance on rote learning that characterizes the present didactic methodology.

So why is the Jamaat up in arms when, in reality, so little will change in the short term? The sad truth is that over the years, the government examination boards have become a racket.

Every year, we hear of leaked papers, massive cheating, and diplomas nobody accepts. There are rumours of the top positions being auctioned. Even if they are not true, the fact that people are willing to believe them is an indicator of how low the prestige of the government boards has sunk.

Surely our students deserve better. The ones who work hard and would do well in any system find their good results devalued because of the shocking inefficiency and graft rampant in the examination boards.

There are reports of many Jamaat sympathizers having infiltrated these bodies. Apart from wishing to ensure that their sympathizers and supporters pass their school leaving exams with good marks, they find that there is a lot of clout and money in controlling these boards.

Over the years, the AKU has built up a well-deserved reputation for excellence, both as a hospital and as a university. Its graduates are welcomed abroad with open arms, and its degrees are accepted around the world. Entrusting this national institution with the task of improving the level of our public examinations speaks volumes for this government's commitment to education.

When a professional body examines students, several things happen. Firstly, teachers are forced to teach to that standard if they are to obtain decent results for their school.

In the private sector, parents look at the results achieved by a school before admitting their children there. Then, there is the ripple effect caused by one board examining at a higher level than the rest.

Next, good colleges and universities might start demanding that applicants should obtain AKU-EB diplomas. All these would force government boards to improve. Obviously, obscurantist forces would oppose a quantum improvement in our education.

They thrive in ignorant and backward societies, and the last thing they want is for our youth to be enlightened and educated in the proper sense of the word. Even though this initiative is very limited in its scope, and would not affect the vast majority of our students, our bigots view it with suspicion.

Egging them on is the education bureaucracy because it fears being shown up for the incompetent lot they are. Over the years, they have presided over the steady deterioration of the system until it has reached a state of virtual collapse.

When ministers talk of foreign investment and IT exports, they ignore the ground reality of poorly instructed young men and women who simply cannot compete globally. When entrepreneurs look for competent young executives, they are horrified at the quality of applicants.

This government has a poor track record when it comes to taking a stand against the mullahs. Now that it has come up with an excellent idea to improve education, it must follow through, and not permit the coordinated Jamaat campaign to derail its partnership with the AKU-EB.