UNIVERSITIES across Pakistan should not always be judged by numbers. Nor should they be judged by the number of students who pursue thousands of degrees every year from universities. However, universities should always be judged by their administration system, designed curriculum and experts who continue to teach there. There are also universities which are famous for some expert men under whose leadership universities run and under whose leadership thousands of students come to join universities. Similarly, same is the case with Pakistani universities. No doubt, we have built many universities in the country, every year thousands of students graduate from universities and every year, also thousands of students are admitted to universities. So now the country does not lack universities; it lacks a good administration, experts, a good sophisticated curriculum designed for students and eligible learned men for the right jobs and positions.
Education system in Pakistan runs under the State and is administered by learned men who are believed to be able for running these institutions. Now the question arises: Are all universities in Pakistan run under the leadership of learned men and those who are better administers? Surely, the question may bring so many doubts to every mind, thinking critically and intellectually. There are many real life examples to support this matter. For instance, there are also those who make scheme of studies are often such men who don’t know how much time it takes to cover the course in the short duration of a semester; they often do not even know about what the designed courses are and what will be the outcome of teaching these courses?
In most cases, they do not have knowledge of courses designed to teach students. Since covering so much content in the duration of 4-5 months is so much difficult. As a result, teachers tend to escape some topics and they don’t go in detail to cover the course content in depth. And while, on the other hand, in some cases, some teachers are allocated to teach such subjects in which they do not have interest, nor they specialize in those subjects. This happens because those who lay down such polices have themselves no experience of teaching and are not capable of positions where they are placed.
While teachers who know how to teach and cover subjects, are often not being consulted when making such policies; however, they are only asked to teach and cover the course in a given duration.
And when it comes to the education of these men sitting in the premises of administration, their education often does not match to the position they hold. For instance, in administrations of universities, a number of employees are not expert; their education is very limited and does not relate to the modern education system. Such men, with a limited knowledge, tend to decide the future of educational institutions.
Some have only basic knowledge of computer, while others have hardly BS and M.Phil degrees. On the other hand, there are also those who teach students are specialists in their fields. Some are doctors, while others M.Phil scholars. However, knowledge is like a compass, which cannot be separated from learned men. And learned men are the only people who know how to better use it.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Ghotki, Sindh.
