4. Issues In Higher Education

4. ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION It is a fact universally acknowledged that education plays a vital role in the social, political and economic development of a country. Without education progress in any sector is inconceivable because it is through education that makes a man to promote his human qualities and develop in him those virtues which are useful not only for him but for the society as a whole. That is why the process of education should continue from cradle to grave. Today educational institutions are busy imparting both kinds of technical and liberal education. The cultural heritage is step by step transferred to the younger generation. Every country has its own education system wrought according to her own requirements reflecting the ideology' of that particular country. In Pakistan the system has been classified into three categories or levels. In the first place there is primary education followed by secondary level and thirdly there is college or university level. The primary or secondary level of education has its own problems. We have to concentrate here on issues faced by us on higher level. The368 The Study of Education uncontroversial mission of the universities is to generate and disseminate knowledge. They have to produce thinkers and scholars who could lead the nation on every juncture. Unfortunately higher education in Pakistan is in a sorry state. Its products are said to be poor, meaning that its turns out do not have any adequate understanding of their respective disciplines and the contribution to the advancement of knowledge that their teachers make are too modest. Similarly teachers do not dedicate themselves to their work for many reasons. They have unwillingly joined the profession as the doors to more prestigious and lucrative positions were closed to them or because they are not paid well enough or they can get away with doing less than they ought to do. Many of them have not even studied a small portion of the classics or the work of their contemporary authors in their relevant fields. They do not bother to investigate and make fresh researches to keep their students abreast with modern discoveries. This state of affairs clearly indicates that there is no proper arrangements of rewards and punishments. As for remuneration is concerned, one may say that the university teachers should be treated in the same way as other civil servants with similar educational qualification. But it is pertinent to mention that they enjoy more benefits as compared to other civil servants. They have summer .vacation in addition to public holidays, sick leave, recreation leave, causal leave and a considerably lighter load of work. They do not undergo the same level of strain and stress in their work as civil servants and business tycoon do. It is comparatively an easier and comfortable job as compared to service involving public dealings. The pVoblem faced by management bodies of the universities in itself is a gre at issue. The funds and grants

being given to the universitii hardly meet its requirements 2S are so much meager that can . The result is that extra burden 369 The Study of Education is put upon the students. The ever-increasing university fee is a source of eternal worry for the parents. Many students despite their mental a,-\',:-^- and abilities are deprived to continue their education just because of their financial constraints. The back-breaking university expenses can hardly be afforded by the lower and even the middle class of our people. The government should realize the fact and rectify the students by allocating a heavy check of amount for universities so that the students could be relieved of the tension they take in connection with fee and other allied expenses. Despite the problems mentioned above the importance of higher education cannot be denied. The per capita income depends upon the state of economy which is directly proportional to the literacy rate of a country. The economy of a country largely depends upon the able and intelligent economists who formulate such economic policies which play an effective role in the advancement of the country. It is an established fact that able economists efficient doctors, diligent industrialists and quick mind engineers and mathematicians are produced only if the country has a sound system of education. On the other hand a failed economic system will have negative effects on all the abovementioned sectors and the nation, as a whole, will lag behind in the comity of nations. The primary aim of our professions should be service of humanity while getting financial and economics support should be our secondary aim. Unfortunately our educated class after relieving from higher institutions find it a Herculean Task to get a suitable employment for themselves in their practical life. It is not a cause of restlessness for the young generation but the parents too suffer on this account. No doubt investment in education goes waste but most of the people consider it a useless and futile activity that after getting a higher university degree the students should run like a sundry star from pillar to post370 The Study of Education in search of job. This is the foremost responsibility of the government to create as much job opportunities so that the people could look the higher education with due honour and esteem. Apart from many other reasons the problem mentioned above is also one of the greatest causes of our low literary rate. At present our literary rate is scarcely 40%. Our respective governments have tried troir level best to raise the literary rate and improve the educational level both quantitatively and qualitatively but no significant

change has occurred so far. The education on university level has often been the focus of the higher authorities, as without improving education on higher level we are impossible to launch our ship towards the destination of peace and prosperity. Most of the students after getting the secondary school certificates or at the most a bachelor degree prefer service to admission in a university. The result is that we have abundance of clerks, manual works, primary school teachers, tracers and designers but no doctor, no engineer and no scholar. We import consultants for our mega projects which is a great burden on our exchequer. Sensing the gravity of the situation is therefore, the dire need of the hour. It has also been observed that students remain engaged for a greater part of the year in union activities. This has proved detrimental for the cause of education. At this stage the students need to learn politics and not to « involve themselves in practical politics on the cost of their academic career. But if we think objectively we will conclude that union formation is the compulsion of the * students. Like other departments red-tapism is also existed in our universities. The genuine problems and petty issue of the students are a constant cause of tension for them and no one bothers to resolve these issues. So willingly or unwillingly they resort to union formation. 371 The Study of Education There aref more than twenty-four universities in our country but the ratio of literacy rate on higher level is desperately small. The reason is the multitude of problems faced by the higher education in our country. So far we have not addressed these issues our hopes of progress and achievement are nothing more than dreams. The problems of the student, parents, teachers and university administration are to be resolved simultaneously so that to harness the true aim of higher education. FEMALE EDUCATION 1 he role of woman in building a nation is undeniable. As a mother, sister or wife, a woman performs different functions. Her prime duty is to bring up her children in such away to make them useful citizens of the country. Napoleon's remark about the education of woman has become a famous quotation. "G/ve me a good woman and I will give you a good nation." Hence her role as a nation-builder demands that she should be properly trained and educated. Educating a man means educating * an individual while educating a woman is like educating the whole family. She dreams of an enlightened family which cannot be cherished without the existence of an educated woman. Woman becomes fifty percent (50%) of our population and it is in no way justified if he keeps such a heavy proportion in ignorance and abeyance. It is an historical fact that the progress of a country has always cherished with the emancipation and empowerment of woman while empowerment in turn is impossible without education. In England and many other European countries the era of industrial development coincided with the

feminist movement^ Japan's economic progress is just because of its ninety percent literacy rate attained by the