SUMMARY of the Article “Education Crisis,” by Nazir A. Jogezai, Dawn, July 22nd, 2024
The article discusses the recent decision by the Balochistan government to increase the budget for higher education institutions (HEIs), which is expected to resolve long-standing issues, such as delayed salaries for employees and the introduction of full scholarships for PhD students under the Benazir Bhutto Scholarship Programme. Despite this positive development, the article highlights the ongoing crisis in the governance and management of HEIs in Balochistan, exacerbated by financial collapse and a heavy reliance on aid and grants. Mismanagement has led to spending on construction and salaries, with little investment in profit-making ventures, human development, or research. This has resulted in HEIs becoming financially unstable and unable to contribute effectively to society. The crisis is attributed to various stakeholders, including lawmakers, policy makers, and university administrations, who have prioritized quantity over quality, leading to financial mismanagement and demoralized teaching faculty. The article criticizes the increasing use of contractual staff, reduction in remunerations, rising student fees, and limited scholarships, which have further weakened the HEIs. It calls for a shift towards rational resource utilization, academic management, and profit generation, rather than expansion into remote areas. The article also emphasizes the need for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to relinquish some of its control, allowing provincial authorities to manage their own HEIs more effectively. The establishment of a provincial HEC and the utilization of local human capital are recommended as sustainable solutions to the crisis in Balochistan’s higher education sector.
Easy/Short SUMMARY:
The article talks about the Balochistan government’s decision to increase funding for higher education, which will help fix issues like delayed salaries and provide scholarships for PhD students. However, it also points out ongoing problems with how these institutions are managed. Many of the HEIs rely too much on aid and don’t invest in important areas like research and human development. This mismanagement has led to financial instability. The article criticizes the focus on building new facilities over improving quality and highlights the need for better resource use and management. It suggests that local authorities should have more control over HEIs and that using local talent instead of expensive foreign scholars can make the system more sustainable.
SOLUTIONS of The Problem:
Educational Programs for Effective Management
Develop training programs for university administrators to improve financial management and strategic planning, ensuring funds are used efficiently.
Increase Investment in Research and Development
Allocate a portion of the budget specifically for research and development to foster innovation and self-sufficiency in HEIs.
Collaborate with Postgraduate Colleges
Encourage partnerships between HEIs and postgraduate colleges to share resources, reduce costs, and enhance academic offerings.
Implement Rational Resource Utilization
Focus on optimizing current resources rather than expanding into new areas, ensuring existing facilities are fully utilized and well-maintained.
Establish Provincial Higher Education Commission (PHEC)
Set up a functional PHEC to oversee the management of HEIs, ensuring they operate within provincial budgets and address local needs effectively.
Promote Inclusive Disciplinary Methods
Incorporate subjects that engage the community and address the socioeconomic landscape of Balochistan, making education more relevant and impactful.
Equitable Tuition Fee Structure
Implement a sliding scale for tuition fees where wealthier students pay more, and poorer students receive subsidies to ensure equal access to education.
Capacity Building for Faculty
Invest in capacity-building programs for faculty to enhance their teaching and research skills, improving the overall quality of education.
Reduce Dependency on Foreign Scholars
Utilize local talent and expertise to reduce costs and make the education system more sustainable and relevant to local needs.
Encourage Financial Support from Provincial Government
Ensure that the provincial government provides adequate financial support and autonomy to HEIs to manage their affairs and innovate solutions independently.
IMPORTANT Facts and Figures Given in the Article:
- The Balochistan government has increased the budget for higher education institutions.
- The Benazir Bhutto Scholarship Programme will provide full scholarships for PhD students from Balochistan to study in 200 leading universities worldwide.
- HEIs in Balochistan have faced financial collapse due to mismanagement and over-reliance on aid and grants.
- There has been a preference for construction and salaries over profit-making, human development, and research investments.
- The Higher Education Commission (HEC) still takes key decisions, but there is a call for more provincial autonomy.
MCQs from the Article:
1. What recent decision did the Balochistan government make regarding higher education?
A. Decreasing the budget for HEIs
B. Increasing the budget for HEIs
C. Closing down several HEIs
D. Introducing new fees for all students
2. What will the Benazir Bhutto Scholarship Programme provide?
A. Scholarships for undergraduate students
B. Scholarships for master’s students
C. Full scholarships for PhD students
D. Partial scholarships for all students
3. What has been the main issue with the management of HEIs in Balochistan?
A. Over-reliance on local funding
B. Excessive focus on profit-making ventures
C. Mismanagement and over-reliance on aid and grants
D. Too much investment in research
4. What role has the Higher Education Commission (HEC) played according to the article?
A. Providing full autonomy to HEIs
B. Increasing financial independence of HEIs
C. Retaining control over key decisions
D. Promoting local talent over foreign scholars
5. What is suggested as a sustainable solution for higher education in Balochistan?
A. Recruiting more foreign scholars
B. Expanding into more remote areas
C. Utilizing local human capital
D. Reducing the number of universities
VOCABULARY:
- Ineptitude (نااہلی): Lack of skill or ability.
- Disintegration (انحطاط): The process of losing cohesion or strength.
- Predicament (مشکل صورتحال): A difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.
- Remunerations (تنخواہیں): Payments or compensations for services or work done.
- Arbitrary (من مانی): Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.
- Astute (تیز فہم): Having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage.
- Synergy (ہم آہنگی): The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
- Inaugurate (افتتاح کرنا): To begin or introduce a system, policy, or period.
- Salvation (نجات): Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.
- Integration (انضمام): The process of combining or adding parts to make a unified whole.
- Inclusive (جامع): Not excluding any section of society or any party involved in something.
- Equitable (منصفانہ): Fair and impartial.
- Obligation (ذمہ داری): A duty or commitment.
- Manifesto (اعلان): A public declaration of policy and aims.
- Capacity Building (صلاحیت سازی): Developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes, and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive.
- Eclipsed (چھایا ہوا): Obscured or diminished in importance or quality.
- Proactive (فعال): Creating or controlling a situation rather than just responding to it after it has happened.
- Subsidy (سبسڈی): Financial assistance granted by a government to support an organization or individual.
- Disbursement (ادا): The payment of money from a fund.
- Resilience (مضبوطی): The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
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dawn.com
Education crisis
Nazir A. Jogezai
FINALLY, the Balochistan government has taken a much-needed decision: it has increased the budget for higher education institutions (HEIs). This is likely to resolve many long-standing issues which had hindered the progress of these facilities, such as providing relief to employees who have endured months of delayed salaries. In addition, the announcement about granting full scholarships under the Benazir Bhutto Scholarship Programme for PhD students from Balochistan to study in 200 leading universities worldwide, will also go a long way in supporting the youth to find fulfillment.
Sadly, for decades, the governance and management of HEIs in Balochistan has faced a crisis, with the recent financial collapse revealing the ineptitude of the relevant authorities. Besides, the HEIs were always far too reliant on aid and grants. While much was spent on new construction and salaries, not a penny went towards profit-making endeavours, human development, research and advancement. The latter would have kept the HEIs safe from such a dismal monetary state, making them self-reliant and able to contribute to broader social well-being, resulting in research-based and informed decision-making.
The rapid academic and structural disintegration of the HEIs was eclipsed by the protests and uproar against employees’ financial predicaments. The responsibility for this collapse rests with all stakeholders —– from lawmakers and policy engineers to administrations and university associations.
Moreover, the shortsighted, unimaginative mindset of our legislators is in complete conflict with internationally established criteria in higher education. They prefer quantity and cosmetic changes — new buildings and recruits — over quality, leading to grave liabilities, including non-disbursement of salaries to staff.
Financial support should be a provincial obligation.
The increasing inclination for hiring contractual staff, reducing remunerations, raising student fees, and limiting scholarships and internships, alongside compromised university functions, spell disaster for higher education in the province. Every arbitrary move demoralises the teaching faculty, which is unable to tend to its daily needs and professional obligations. After the Covid-19 pandemic, HEIs worldwide merged departments to foment efficiency and lower costs. Pakistan, on the other hand, continues to follow an outdated policy — expand departments into divisions and inaugurate more universities and satellite campuses. One must ponder over the questions of whether we need all those enrolled in HEIs, especially when there are no jobs for graduates, as well as whether every district has a university. Higher education has become more of a symbol than a forum for the contributions of scientists, entrepreneurs, philosophers, and historians.
The crisis is deep; it needs astute leadership to set a direction, empower others and create synergy. It is also time that HEIs’ leadership took responsibility and devised a strategy to repair the damage. Moreover, rational resource utilisation and academic management have to become a priority, with a focus on profit generation and curtailed expansion schemes in far-flung areas. All academic associations must become more proactive in promoting quality education in their manifestos.
Salvation also lies in multiple interventions — integrating departments, closing satellite campuses, collaboration with postgraduate colleges, and capacity building. A shift towards inclusive disciplinary methods — subjects which enable communal engagement and are relevant to Balochistan’s socioeconomic landscape — and an equitable tuition fee structure, whereby the wealthy pay a higher fee-and the poor get a subsidy, are a necessity.
The Higher Education Commission has played a disappointing role, especially in the context of the 18th Amendment. It still takes key decisions — from determining the norms for recruitment, to programmes of study, to other administrative affairs.
Financial support and academic freedom in HEIs should be a provincial obligation. While it must be acknowledged that the HEC has guided higher education insitutes in Balochistan, the dynamics have changed. It ought to give up its powers so that the institutions assume responsibility for managerial excellence as well as debacles.
The establishment of a functional provincial HEC should be a priority, with the province operating its HEIs within its budget and in line with the needs of the people. More importantly, utilising Balochistan’s human capital, as opposed to recruiting expensive foreign scholars, will make the provincial HEC more sustainable, relevant, and effective.
The writer is an educationist.
Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2024