By Soban Asim
The realms of physics range from astronomical mysteries to mindboggling makeup of minute particles in quantum. In short physics has it all. Many Pakistanis physicists have also been under the limelight which include notables like A.Q Khan and Dr. Abdus Salam just to name a few. However, during the last couple of decades while there is a degrees galore in the country, there is a deficiency of such lucrative minds.
According to an official document published in 2016 5621 students completed there PHD’s in 2011-2016 far greater than there has been in the first 55 years after the country’s independence. While the quantity is on a rise the quality is on a decline. According to Pervazhoodbhoy, a prominent physicist: “We need to produce quality rather than quantity as currently we are only producing quantity.”
The thing that is even more problematic is that among the PHD graduates only 0 04% have graduated in physics. This percentage is alarming because in a competitive world our country is in a dire need of scientists particularly astrophysicists which according to experts will play a focal role in the power shifts of the world.
Our neighboring country China has increased its space spending by 349% over the last fifteen years. China has a budget of $8 billion to explore space science second only to the US. The US space industry was estimated to be valued $158 billion in 2016 by FAA.
To sum up the government needs to take initiatives to not only produce minds capable of exercising creativity but also to provide job opportunities in these ever-growing fields of physics particularly astrophysics so that our nation can stand out among the masses.
