Falling university standards | Balochistan ghost schools
Free-falling university standards
Karachi, June 19: Educators are concerned about the continuous educational and
moral decline in universities, and are seeking appropriate ways to arrest this
slide. Some are trying to generate an opinion of the reasons behind this decline
to effectively plug these loopholes. Nepotism in educational institutions
The universities, especially those in the public sector, are plagued by
the influence of political parties and trade unions as well as student parties
and their activists. They are causing a great deal of unrest, and faculty and
staff believe that these politicised hoodlums have turned universities into
their hunting ground.Political parties use their influence to get their
supporters jobs in the university, even though these people do not have the
qualifications and experience needed for the job. They have been placed with the
specific purpose of carrying out shady activities for their benefactors. This
vicious cycle is continuous and adversely affects the standard of
education. Campus violence
Several news items that appeared in the
press from mid-April 2009 to mid May 2009 alone are indicators of the
disturbances, plaguing public-sector universities. The following excerpts are a
few examples of such incidents:"The Federal Urdu University of Arts,
Science and Technology (FUUAST) decided to suspend classes on Wednesday after a
firing incident in a tea house located opposite the university. The table boy of
the tea house was killed, and eight students belonging to the Pakhtoon Students
Federation (PSF) were injured, four of them seriously." "The University
of Karachi (KU) witnessed yet another bloody clash between the activists of the
Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) and the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) on
Monday that resulted in three injured, interruption in scheduled classes and
created an environment of fear on campus. According to eye witnesses, the clash
began after a duel of glaring at each other and an interchange of harsh words.
Classes were suspended for two days." Cheating
Cheating during
examinations has become a norm in the current educational set-up, and the
University of Karachi (KU) and other universities are not immune to this
epidemic. The universities have adopted stringent measures like a fine of
Rs5,000 and/or barring the offending students from appearing in any examination
for three years. The measures have failed to curb the practice.Role of
teachers
Senior Professors, students and thee parents have expressed
their reservations about the role of teachers that, according to them, has
declined visibly resulting in the falling of educational standards and
deterioration of the teacher-student relationship.FUUAST Vice Chancellor
(VC) Dr Muhammad Qaiser is wary of the teachers' performance, especially their
ability to guide and lead students in a fruitful manner. "I have assumed charge
(as the VC) for some time, and I am surprised and pained to see that teachers
are more inclined towards eliciting maximum benefits from the university or
indulging in petty politics, hardly compatible with the noble
profession." Solutions
The KU Faculty of Science Dean and
Department of Microbiology Professor Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi thinks that the
standard of education at the universities cannot be enhanced unless some drastic
changes are undertaken. "Restoration of student unions, introduction of
full-fledged semester system and a change in the attitude of the teachers is
essential if we are serious about bringing sanity to our university. Students
are not happy because they do not have their representative union, and teachers
have failed to create a rapport with the students," she asserted.The
Professor of Medicine Dr Nizamani, currently teaching at the University
Technology, Mara, Malaysia, puts the cause of the decline in a nutshell: "The
main reasons are corruption, nepotism and appointment of inefficient people to
top administrative posts to award them grade 22. This is sheer wastage of money,
and a gross injustice to deserving teachers." The News
Downgrading education
It is both shocking and deplorable that the government should be downgrading
education, which holds the key not only to the country's development but could
also serves as the best antidote to extremism and militancy. The federal and
Punjab budgets for 2009-10 have, inexplicably, lowered the allocations for this
vital sector compared to the previous ones. Since Pakistan lags behind all other
nations in the South Asian region in the literacy rate and falls far short of
the targets set under the Millennium Development Goals, one had expected that
the political government would spare enough resources for the sector to come up.
The axe would only result in worsening the situation. If we want to get out
of the morass of poverty and helplessness, we should have no hesitation in
complying with the UNESCO standard of the allocation of funds for the developing
countries. But, it is a great pity that as against four percent of the GDP that
the UN body stipulates, our allocation is not even two percent. The previous
government in the province had started a programme known as Parha Likha Punjab,
which although partly used to politically project the incumbent Chief Minister,
certainly had some beneficial effect on the state of education. Our situation
demands a wide network of schools and colleges that are within reach of the
entire population both in terms of distance and financial means. Besides, it is
acknowledged on all hands that the standard of education has progressively been
going down. There is, therefore, need to review the syllabi and appoint duly
qualified and competent teachers. The low priority that the sector has been
receiving since independence has been a major reason for the menace of extremism
and bigotry we face today. The need for opening educational institutions to meet
this challenge has been recognised by the US and an important component of its
aid is to be spent on this sector. Pakistan must immediately revise its
priorities and find sufficient financial resources to quicken up the spread of
education relating to different fields, technical, scientific, agriculture,
etc. The Nation
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"News regarding Balochistan Education is very important and indicating a worst condition of Balochistan Education. If you other data regarding balochistan please share."
Name: Hubdar
Email: hbdr_f80@yahoo.com
City, Country: Quetta, Pakistan
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Balochistan has 3,500 ghost schools, says minister
Quetta: Balochistan's Education Minister Shafiq Ahmed Khan has
disclosed that there are 3,500 ghost schools in the province. According
to a survey conducted by the education department, the minister said, these
schools existed only on papers. He said notices had been issued to
'missing teachers' and they had been directed to report to the department
immediately. But most of them have not responded so far. The minister's
statement came a day after Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani set up a task
force to curb cheating in examinations and to improve the standard of education
in the province. Mr Shafiq Khan said there were 45,000 teachers in about
13,000 primary, middle and high schools in the province. "For the last 14
months, the finance department has not given a single penny to the education
department. Half of the schools are without roofs and boundary walls, even the
girls' schools." Sources in the finance department said that in the
financial year 2008-09 the government spent Rs6.5 billion on salaries and
allowances of teachers and Rs550 million was given for development of education
sector. Government schools in many areas of Quetta have no basic
amenities. "We have no toilet, no drinking water and no electricity,"
said Naimatullah, a student of a government primary school in Quetta.
According to the survey, a number of schools are in rented buildings and
the government has no funds to help them have their own buildings. The
minister said that without the support of political parties and the tribal elite
it would be difficult to solve the problem of ghost schools. Dawn
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