Research and our universities
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said that universities around the world are helping governments with the coronavirus but Pakistani universities remain silent spectators. The job of universities is to do research for which the government spends billions. Universities should play a role. University vice-chancellors should think that universities around the world are giving guidelines to governments through research and policy papers. Universities are conducting research on the coronavirus. The job of universities is not only to do PhDs but also to think about such a sensitive issue.
Mr. Fawad Chaudhry's name is very prominent among the few people in the present cabinet who think and express their views openly.
He rightly said that in the current situation, universities should have a role to play in research. But what to do, man reaps what he sows. What a new job this government has done, nothing. Has the Vice-Chancellor and others been selected on administrative merit, has the old setup changed? Have there been any revolutionary educational initiatives, no, nothing like that has happened and is not happening? Why it is not happening is a very serious issue. But it is up to the governments to consider who is the real culprit in bringing us to the present situation. Ph.D. is a research degree. Philosophy means understanding and love. When a person begins to love his subject so much that he becomes absorbed in it and thinks about it and draws conclusions, we give him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Until the year 2000, I have fully represented the teachers at the Punjab level. Twenty percent of Ph.D. students at the time did some manipulation, but many also did some research. Manipulators would find an article from somewhere and publish it by changing its title and parts. But the work of many people was also fine, although much of the work was not very standard, in these circumstances there were spoils. We tried very hard to make government policies in such a way that people would be inclined towards real research instead of participating in the grades race. We demanded a Ph.D. in research. What does the researcher have to do with administrative matters? They should be kept completely separate from administrative matters. Other people look at administrative matters. But these PhDs were rapidly gaining power and turning into the mafia.
Anyone who takes a closer look at our education system will know that no one is more educated than an MA or MSc in terms of education. An M.Phil or Ph.D. person knows a little more about a very small specific subject but in the rest of the subject he is on par with others. What advantage does one have over others by writing an essay on a specific part of Ghalib's poetry? But it is strange that after writing an essay on a poem by Iqbal, who barely passed in his class in MA, he becomes first, second and superior to all the other good children in his class.
A person sows many varieties of potatoes in small plots on five acres of land and then writes an article saying that potatoes made from such and such seeds are the best. He holds a doctorate in agriculture. His knowledge of potatoes is obvious, but an experienced farmer, who has spent his whole life in farming and who There is a vast knowledge about every crop, but how can it be given priority. But this is Pakistan, the politicians here easily fall into the hands of the people of this mafia and the people of this mafia sing the tune of their knowledge. Take advantage. I don't see any PhD research that has something new that the nation can benefit from. ۔
With the establishment of the Higher Education Commission, the last nail in the coffin of education in this country has been nailed. Since then, the education system has been rapidly declining. Good teachers were fired from universities. The registrar, controller and all such positions which were the prerogative of non-teaching staff have been taken away from them by depriving them of their legitimate right. Why do they have experience in this job? These people are disabled from teaching, so they run after such posts. Now there is politics in universities or the whole house.
The teacher, who was never greedy for money, is now struggling for the same kind of privileges as a bureaucrat because of this mafia. He has no interest in children, if they are permanently destroyed, his interests must be served. He has no idea that educational institutions are run by children. If not children, then the teacher is also free.
The saddest thing is that the PhDs that have come in the last fifteen years are 90% cut and paste production. He took an article, changed its title, gave a command to the computer and disappeared all that could be involved in the theft. New article prepared. If you can't work so hard, spend a little money, many companies will prepare an essay according to your given topic and give it to you. There are also institutions that will provide a degree from a university that is easily certified by the Higher Education Commission for Rs 1.5 lakh.
The Higher Education Commission is a white elephant that is a huge burden on the education system of this country. One Chairman, nine Directors General, twenty consultants, more than eight hundred staff. Most of the grants given to universities are consumed by it. Rarely does the real entitlement come into play?
Universities around the world are independent. Universities are neither independent nor their vice-chancellors here.
The Vice-Chancellor is chosen from among the most flattering people. There is no imprisonment of the Senate. The condition is purely political obedience. There is no competent person imposed by this government. The performance of the Higher Education Commission can never be improved. For the betterment of education, it is necessary to abolish it and give freedom to universities. The people of the ministry can do all the work of higher education better and more easily.
The good thing is not to increase the number of slaves but to give the right to the deserving people Is done. If there is a government whose ministers do not need the Higher Education Commission to feed their loved ones and its ministers are inclined to think, then the Higher Education Commission is in perpetual darkness. It must be removed immediately. PhDs will have to be removed from administrative positions. Otherwise, it will have to sink. InshaAllah, it will soon drown not only the entire education system but also many others.