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| November 08, 2008 | Saturday | Ziqa'ad 9, 1429 |
Curse of corruption
Human development in Saarc
Why higher education?
Jesse Jackson’s tears
OTHER VOICES - Sri Lankan Press
THE expansion of higher education in Pakistan has become a hotly debated issue. It is argued that higher education adds to a nation’s skilled labour force.
HOW can anyone truly understand the maelstrom of emotions that overcame the Rev Jesse Jackson as he waited for Barack Obama to make his victory speech? It seemed to encapsulate joy and pain and relief and then perhaps frustration. Look closely and his eyes, reddened, hooded and streaming with tears, betray a certain bewilderment.
THOUGH there is no official word on the fate of the population census that was to be conducted last month, the silence itself is indicative of what unfortunately lies in store: at the very least, a delay of several months. If history is anything to take a cue from, fears of uncertainty on this crucial count are not misplaced. After the first census in 1951, there should have been five held by now and, in line with the constitution, a sixth would have been due in the next couple of years. Instead, we have just had three — 1961, 1972, 1998 — and, rhetoric aside, there was never a realistic chance of the latest deadline being met. A summary put up by the Population Census Organisation earlier in the year had asked for Rs7.68bn for the nationwide exercise. The federal budget, however, allocated only a fraction of the sum demanded. This had raised many an eyebrow even then, for it was a clear indication of the low priority being accorded to a subject that provides the basic database for all the key social, economic and demographic indicators. These, in turn, form the basis to work out formulae for the distribution of resources among the provinces, delimitation of electoral constituencies, job quotas, water apportionment and such other sensitive issues.
There have also been reports of only a partial release of whatever insufficient funds that were marked in the budget. With winter setting in, the exercise cannot begin before March 2009 in any case. However, the grim financial scenario is giving rise to serious doubts about the ability of the economic managers to take out enough funds for something that already has a strong precedent of being put on the back burner. The official silence on the matter, despite the lapse of the October deadline, is adding to such negative perceptions.
Away from logistics, there are a couple of technicalities that the authorities need to be clear about before undertaking the exercise. It is a bit surprising that after all the bad blood that was created in 1998, no procedural change has been planned for enumeration purposes. The anomalies had led to serious protests in urban Sindh, which plays host to a large immigrant population. In the wake of unrest in the north and the resultant southward movement, the issue this time round is bound to be even more crucial. Besides, the definition of urban and rural areas is also up in the air because of the change the local governance system has undergone in the intervening period. The delay, though unconstitutional, can still have a positive connotation if it could be used to sort out such thorny issues which will pre-empt a political backlash afterwards.
THE not-so-new rulers in Islamabad are at pains to stress that what they seek above all from the international community is investment, not simply assistance. While this sentiment is admirable on face value, it goes without saying that the begging bowl will be Pakistan’s unwanted image accessory for the time being. Pakistan is begging; let’s be forthcoming about that for there is nothing wrong with admitting that the situation is beyond our control. Our ‘friends’, and more likely the IMF, will have to come to our rescue. What is more troubling, however, is that Pakistan’s full potential as a favourable investment destination may never be realised until corruption is checked and there is greater transparency at all levels of governance.
Take our bureaucracy and the political set-up in which backhanders rule. What we get as a result of this corruption is fly-by-night operators interested in the quick buck that can only be made while the current culture lasts. Reputable investors in for the long haul look twice at a country where graft is an accepted overhead and there is no assurance of continuity of policy. And where the ethical grounding of the most powerful in the land is open to question. For the risk-averse, Pakistan is not the preferred option.
It is a moot point whether the current administration is more susceptible to corruption than those that preceded it. The reason why investors are keeping a safe distance even when property prices are at rock bottom, and when the government is bound to bend over backwards to offer tax holidays and other incentives, has more to do with the global liquidity crunch and the security situation in Pakistan. But image does matter, especially at crunch times. What is known, beyond a shadow of doubt, is that Pakistan has consistently featured as one of the headline acts in corruption indices going back several years. Little wonder then that a top Microsoft official in Pakistan said on Thursday, “We wanted to invest as much in Pakistan as we did in India but our propositions never made it past bureaucrats and politicians who wanted their cut.” This, sadly, is a complaint heard often from firms not wishing to engage in dishonest business practices. The deeply entrenched culture of corruption cannot be eradicated overnight at all levels of society. For our collective sake, however, a beginning can be made by ensuring a transparent, one-window facility for foreign and local investors.
DESPITE unprecedented economic growth in South Asia, human development levels in the region are abysmal. Poverty is rampant and health and education indicators are major areas of concern. Sadly, the share of South Asia in the total number of the world’s poor has increased from 40 per cent in 1993 to 47 per cent in 2004. Economic growth will make an impact only if it addresses these problems. It should therefore be welcomed that a two-day meeting to discuss the implementation of the Saarc Social Charter was held in Islamabad earlier this week. The charter was signed by Saarc member states in Islamabad on Jan 4, 2004 with the aim of focusing on common social issues and developing and implementing result-oriented programmes in specific social areas. The charter provides an effective framework for member states to engage in programmes to achieve Saarc development goals and millennium development goals. Saarc is potentially a potent forum through which these goals can be achieved as the welfare and uplift of the people of South Asia is its primary aim.
What should facilitate progress in this quest for a solution to the problems is the fact that all eight countries share similar characteristics. This should enable them to recognise each other’s problems and find common strategies. The charter requires that all member states should formulate a National Plan of Action or modify the existing one, if any, in order to operationalise the provisions of the charter. Thus all member states can identify shared weaknesses and strengths in their plans. Lessons can be learnt from each other, alleviating the problems associated with implementation. Working on issues together is not only a cost-effective way of dealing with them but will also ensure speedy action. A collective approach to common problems, as is possible in Saarc, can prove to be instrumental in finding solutions and encouraging the successful implementation of this charter. But what should be emphasised is that member states will only reap the benefits of the charter if plans are in fact implemented and meetings are held at regular intervals. It all depends on the political will of the governments of member states.
Talented managers provide innovative leadership; engineers and scientists are scientific innovators and develop new products; and teaching professionals prepare the young for future development.
Those with advanced degrees contribute to higher labour-force productivity, production and national income because research and development (R&D) activities in industry, as well as in universities, are undertaken largely by those with a university education.
Recent evidence from many countries points to high social rates of return from R&D by universities. Greater social cohesion and strengthened foundations for democracy that promote property rights and help enforce law and order — necessary conditions to create incentives for innovation — are added social benefits of higher education.
Development economists agree that an atmosphere that promotes innovation is necessary for sustained economic development. Indeed, the children of educated parents grow up with a greater awareness of the value of investment in education.
Lastly, expanding university education leads to lower per student costs as the fixed set-up costs involved in establishing infrastructure are divided over a larger body of students, in turn raising the social rates of return on investment in a university degree.
Considering the centrality of higher education in human and economic development, it is surprising that only since 2002 has post-secondary education in Pakistan received attention in public sector planning. The government doubled the share of post-secondary education in the education budget to 13.7 per cent by 2005-06, resulting in expanded public universities and colleges across the country and a more than twofold increase in student enrolment.
The HEC replaced the somnolent University Grants Commission, signalling increased public sector involvement in higher education which was too important to be left to the private sector, which could not adequately capture the associated substantial external economies. In a way, the change reflected an understanding of social dynamics and helped human capital formation.
Funds allocated to higher education have been used to increase the academic activities of public sector universities within the Medium-Term Development Framework 2005, which aimed at faculty development, access to higher education and promotion of excellence in learning and research. To achieve these core objectives the plan advocated a massive investment in human capital. Since then many objectives have been achieved, though challenges remain.
Thanks to the HEC’s efforts most universities, though initially unable to adequately handle the larger allocations, now have state-of-the-art computer technology, and more monetary and non-monetary incentives are now available for university teachers to perform better. Highly qualified professors who were forced to retire have been brought back. Financial support has helped universities attract qualified foreign faculty on short-term and long-term contracts, giving students and local faculties more exposure to international academics. Further, visits by Nobel laureates have been arranged to broaden the learning experience of faculties and students. As a result many university students now aspire to join the teaching profession, where salaries are now competitive.
A recent study shows Pakistan undergoing a demographic transition due to its declining population growth, causing a change in the country’s age structure. The percentage of the secondary and pre-secondary school-age population will continue to decline while that of the post-secondary school-age population (18-24 year olds) will rise until 2050. Pakistan can benefit from this demographic dividend only by planning ahead and continuing its emphasis on post-secondary education. Countries like South Korea have exploited their demographic dividend by investing heavily in higher education. It is now a question of our ability to meet the challenges of economic development and social change, especially in a globalised world.
Based on the current low student participation rate of 2.5 per cent (the percentage of the population aged 18-24 attending post-secondary institutions) and the projected population increase, approximately 450,000 new students will enter our post-secondary institutes in 2010. The government aims to double this rate (as per the statement of the president of Pakistan). However, given the constraints of the existing physical and human resources, investment must be made in capacity-creation to meet the future growth in both the supply of and the demand for higher education. We estimate that would mean at least doubling the present allocation toward current expenses in the higher education sector. Incidentally, a five per cent student participation rate is still too low by international standards. India’s rate is 12 per cent and is expected to increase. South Korea’s is 68 per cent.
New initiatives must be explored while keeping a balance between allocations to various academic disciplines. An engineering university student receives about 2.4 times more, and one enrolled in a medical university receives 1.3 times more, allocation than does a general university student. Engineers, doctors and other scientists are perceived to contribute more to economic growth than graduates in arts, humanities, and social sciences.
However, the preliminary findings of a study at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology show that the economic returns on general degrees are comparable to engineering and medical degrees. University research and teaching in science, engineering and medicine are necessary for industrial growth but the fields of social sciences, management science and humanities are important for social, economic and political development. Perhaps it is here that a change in the direction of policy is needed in the HEC’s overall priorities.
The projected demand for higher education in Pakistan and the role that the HEC has played since its creation indicate that policies implemented in the past seven years or so should be continued, and where change becomes necessary it should be incremental rather than radical. This is how societies and institutions have developed in advanced countries over the last two centuries. This is how they will develop in Pakistan too.
It is a necessity for the advancement of our growing population of youth if Pakistan is to keep pace with the rapidly globalising world — in which, like in Alice in Wonderland, one must keep running just to stay in the same place. To outdo others is a bigger challenge and will require running even faster.
The writers are respectively professor at Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, and director general, Federal Urdu University, Islamabad.
But then there was a lot to take in, for the man who was just a face in the crowd must have been acutely aware of the part his own history played in the rise of Obama. His links with Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, his rise to prominence as an organiser and an activist in what is now Obama’s heartland, Chicago.
The two presidential campaigns, in 1984 and again in 1988, when — like Obama — he used his community base to build a political machine, proving to black Americans, but also others uninterested and disenfranchised, that they had a role in the US democratic process. He set the trail. Obama blazed down it and into the White House. Those were his achievements. They cannot be taken away. He will have shared black America’s joy in a milestone being reached. The sense of a torch being passed from a generation that literally fought for rights now taken for granted. A little apprehension perhaps. A feeling of vindication.
But he is a man accustomed to the limelight; feted for his history and for the symbol that he was. So perhaps he might have been thinking that he could have been more central to recent events had he behaved more gracefully towards Obama. The claim that he accused the younger man of “acting like he’s white” never really went away, mainly because the denials were half-hearted. He complained, off mic but audibly, on Fox News — Obama’s chief tormentor — of “Barack talking down to black people”. On Wednesday, he was calmer, and he cited Obama’s win as proof that America is “getting better.”
— The Guardian, London
Regaining the true spirit
Daily Mirror
THE American spirit as encapsulated in the declaration of American independence which stated in its preamble that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness,” came alive in a practical way with Barack Obama being elected as the first [African-American] president of the country.
Even as these hallowed declarations were made and intentions expressed, Negro slavery existed and continued for a long time and non-white citizens of the country remained subjected to humiliations and indignities. The civil rights movements were able to make some impact but were not forceful enough to bring about quick reforms and changes in the attitudes and racial prejudices of the majority of people. The present turn of events, however, shows signs that the dream of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King who had said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character” is at long last being realised after many years.
It is indeed creditable that the American people have regained the spirit that their forefathers have proclaimed. They have now eschewed their atavistic prejudices and chosen the young [African-American] fellow citizen Barack Obama to adorn [sic] the White House. They deserve universal encomiums for achieving this feat. They have not only enthroned the true spirit of democracy and meritocracy in their own country but have set an example for the whole world to follow. The lesson to be learned is that cherished human values and the spirit of brotherhood should be placed above all other considerations in consonance with the principles and precepts pronounced in all religious teachings….
Although Barack Obama displayed much enthusiasm and dynamism throughout his campaign to reach the White House, he seems quite alive to the multifarious challenges that he has to grapple with once he assumes [power] as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. Both internal and external problems that the US is embroiled in are numerous. However, the goodwill and moral support he has already earned by projecting his policy of global peace without getting involved in unwarranted armed conflicts will no doubt stand Obama in good stead in conducting his nation’s relations with other countries. President George W. Bush, no doubt, did much to rid the world of terrorism. But his concern more often than not, proved oppressive. President-elect Obama, therefore, has the responsibility of avoiding such pitfalls and promoting genuine peace in the world.
There is much that countries such as ours have to gather from the present American experience if the country is to march forward to progress as a united nation. While avoiding the pursuit of extreme capitalism that has apparently placed the American economy in the present difficult position, Sri Lankan political leaders have to make an effort to steer the country along truly democratic lines. — (Nov 7)
