Pakistan's annual budget last month has been an opportunity to reflect upon the many challenges faced by the country as it seeks to consolidate itself in a rapidly changing world. But the budget has also been an occasion to consider some of the key areas of promise and success as Pakistan has tried to overcome its many pitfalls.

Education and the neglect of the government owned school system are indeed a recurring theme in the country. But the success of the past decade in beginning to revitalise higher education in Pakistani universities is a case in point that needs to be almost celebrated.

After years of continuing and blatant neglect of the university system, President Pervez Musharraf's regime - after taking charge of the country in 1999 - began, for the first time in years, to revitalise university level education. The key objectives of this exercise was essentially to bring Pakistani university level education on par with global standards.

It would be wrong to say that Pakistan has succeeded in achieving all of its objectives with regards to higher education. But it would be right to note that the track record of the past decade is impressive at a minimum.

There are many past legacies which have begun to be reversed during this time. In a country where students aspiring for a higher degree outside Pakistan and were denied that opportunity in the past have had the government supporting their ventures to foreign lands in search of academic excellence.

Improved

At the same time, the government has significantly improved the salaries of foreign-based Pakistani faculty members, thereby laying the basis for the return of many of those who would otherwise never consider teaching at a university in the country.

Other ventures have included new measures to help universities overcome their internal weaknesses. They range from ranging the provision of funds to support the creation of new infrastructure to aiding in the revamp of syllabus. Almost simultaneously, Pakistan has begun embarking on the creation of a network of new universities, reversing a long legacy of neglect to this vital sector.

This overall trend fits into a two pronged pattern. On the one hand, higher education as a fundamental pillar of government policy cannot be neglected. While it is important to concentrate on schools as a fundamental pillar of educational policy, it is also significant to recognise that without a successful turn around in higher education, finding educators of tomorrow would be impossible.

On the other hand, supporting universities overcome their inherent gaps is essential to aid in the overall progress of state and society. No country can hope to flourish unless it has the ability to also oversee the spread of centres of knowledge, excellence and above all discourse.

Pakistan's outlook has suffered badly owing to the failure to discuss and debate issues of national relevance. Pakistani universities at one time did provide a credible forum to undertake such discussions on key challenges facing the country.

But the neglect of almost 20 years has now begun to pay off. It would therefore be a tragic outcome if Pakistan's newly elected government scales down on the government's support to higher education. This word of caution is an essential must in a country where the new government is trying to undo what has been done by its predecessors.

In the politically charged environment of today, it is possible that in undoing the successes of the previous government, the new regime may well decide to target higher education. If so, that would not only be a tragic proclamation upon an area which should otherwise be the source of national pride.

At a time when Pakistani politics is becoming once again intensely charged up, it is vital to protect what has been gained for higher education, and to take the success forward. The best way to do this is to begin celebrating the record of the past decade as an attempt in sincerity to revitalise university level education, while seeking to improve upon this further without dragging the issue through controversy - political or otherwise.

Source: gulfnews.com