Colonialism in the garb of education -2

This is with reference to the recently published article on the above-mentioned subject by one of my most respectable friends Mr. Islamuddin. I would like to acknowledge and appreciate the learned writer for initiating healthy discussions and stimulating debates on topics and issues relevant to our local, national and international interests. I would also like to acknowledge Chitralnews for providing the much needed avenue for dialogues and exchange of views. In his article, Mr. Islamuddin has referred to a Live Program aired on the Aaj T.V. which presents a deplorable situation of Pakistani students in colleges/universities in UK. Since I have not watched this documentary on the T.V., I cannot comment on the program itself but what I could construe from Mr. Islamuddin’s article is that the T.V. program presents only ‘one side of the coin’ and so does the article by the learned writer. I therefore invite you all to explore the ‘other side of the coin’ in order to paint a complete or a more balanced picture of a Pakistani student in UK and elsewhere in the developed world. It is important to explore both ‘sides of the coin’ because over emphasis on any ‘one side’ can become misleading and thus may result in having harsh implications for Pakistani students in UK and other parts of Europe and North America.

I agree with much of what my honorable friend has discussed about the plight of Pakistani students in UK. However, I am struck by the arguments surrounding the loss of self-respect leading to negative mindset, insufficient instruction time and the poor quality of education, the diminishing worth of a foreign qualified person, and the overt attempt to discourage students from going abroad for studies. In my humble view, these arguments need further discussion and analysis. Those Pakistani students who are currently studying in UK and in other countries of Europe and North America can give a better account of what a Pakistani student goes through while studying in these countries. I, however, would like to share my past experiences as a Pakistani student in UK and Canada and my personal observations of, and interactions with, other Pakistani students in UK and North America.

I agree with Mr. Islamuddin that there are numerous challenges for a Pakistani student studying in a western country. These challenges range from cultural shocks to racial slurs, language barriers to technological ignorance, shaky educational background to shrinking financial resources, and most importantly adjusting to a new and advanced system of education which requires every student to be an independent learner. If a student is not well prepared to take on these challenges, and if he/she does not have the ability, flexibility, open mind and positive attitude to adjust to the new culture and system of education, he/she may run into troubles and thus end up losing his/her self-respect. But if a student goes to Europe or North America with an open mind, positive attitude and certain level of home work done in his/her country, he/she will never surrender to these challenges and will definitely find a way out.

The main cause of these challenges is not the western colleges, nor is the system of education there, but is the ‘culture of dependency’ promoted in our homes, schools, and educational institutions in Pakistan. This culture of dependency, which starts from our homes and continues at schools, colleges and even at university level, does not allow our students to develop basic skills that they so desperately need to survive in a western institution/country. Just a simple example, how many of our students in Pakistan know how to operate a photocopier machine. Very few I guess. We do not even need to know about it because ‘somebody’ at a photocopier shop or in the school library does it for us. We do not know how to cook, nor do we know how to wash and iron our clothes because our dear mothers and sisters do it for us. We do not even need to take notes of a lecture because ready-made lecture notes are available at college/university shop. We are very poor in time management because we spend hours and hours in playgrounds, gossiping about others, and in roaming around here and there. But when we go to Europe or North America for study, we have to do all these jobs by ourselves within the limited time available to us. There is no one in UK who can do photocopy for us or cook for us. Even when we walk into a photocopier shop, we have to do the photocopying by ourselves. And when we are unable to do as a simple thing as a photocopying, we get embarrassed, frustrated and thus complain about the system of education in the west.

The learned writer has argued that most Pakistani students in UK lose their self-respect and thus develop a negative mindset. I respectfully disagree with this observation because there are thousands of Pakistani students studying in various institutions in UK and elsewhere in Europe who not only earn self-respect but they also make their parents and the entire nation proud of their achievements. They not only demonstrate outstanding performance in their studies but also act as the true ambassadors of Islam and their country, Pakistan. But those who end up with developing negative mindsets should not always blame the institutions there but they should reflect on their own attitude and approach to the western culture and system of education. A student with a negative attitude will end up with developing a negative mindset whether he/she is studying in Pakistan or UK. Although the culture and milieu of an institution can also contribute to the development of a negative or positive mindset, it is our own attitude and approach that plays the most important role in framing our mindset.

The learned writer, referring to the T.V. program, quotes some Pakistani students saying, “In UK institutions, very little instructions take place and most of the work is done by the students themselves”. This, as I have also experienced, is true that the face-to-face instruction time is limited in most western universities but the reason for less instruction time is not because teachers are lazy or dishonest, but because the system of education does not encourage “spoon-feeding” by teachers. The system of education is such that students do not become dependent on teachers only, instead they look for other sources of support for their learning, and thus become independent learners. Whereas our students even at the university level heavily rely on teachers for their learning. The practice in our schools and universities is that learning is attached to the physical presence of teacher. If the teacher is physically present in the classroom, there is some sort of learning taking place or at least an attempt is made to learn. Otherwise no learning takes place. On the contrary, students in the west are encouraged to be self-accountable for their own learning.

The argument that “there was no big difference between the quality of education in London and Pakistan” is a nebulous generalization. Other than a few institutions (such as LUMS, FAST, Aga Khan University or a few others) which other public sector university in Pakistan can claim that it has the same quality of education as that of Oxford or Cambridge or any other university in UK? Our universities in the public sector which cater to the vast majority of students are suffering from shortage of qualified staff, lack of funds and material resources, outdated curriculum, and absence of professionalism. The budget of our biggest university is not even one third of the budget of Aligarh University, India (The Nation, January 6, 2010). None of the public sector universities in Pakistan is included in the ranking of the world top universities. The total number of educational research studies and publications by all public sector universities in Pakistan is far less than that of any one institution in UK. With this kind of a dismal situation prevailing in most universities and colleges in our country, how could we compare our universities and colleges with those in UK. Also, the worth of a foreign qualified professional cannot be undermined. The ground reality is that professionals with foreign qualifications have better prospects and higher market value in almost all professional fields in Pakistan. The reason for the increasing demands for foreign qualified professionals is because one cannot get a qualification /degree in UK or elsewhere in Europe and North America until he/she has fulfilled all requirements for that qualification. Therefore it is very unlikely that a foreign qualified professional will have the degree but not the knowledge and skills to deliver. Although a foreign degree does not always guarantee that the degree holder will turn a institution around, it does enable the degree holder to bring in international perspectives and a broader vision to the institution. Thus the argument made by the learned writer that ‘a foreign qualified person can become a liability of the institution in which he/she works’ is not in harmony with the ground realities and practical experiences.

The last argument made by the learned writer is that students may prefer to study in local institutions than going to cities or abroad for studies. My humble suggestion is that we should encourage students particularly the Chitrali students to explore educational opportunities available both within and outside Pakistan. In this time of science and technology, it would be a great loss for our students if we confined them to the few institutions in Chitral. We should rather encourage and guide them to access, if they can afford to, centres of excellence and well-reputed institutions in-side and outside Pakistan so that they can study those disciplines and new fields of education which are not available in Chitral. Even if a field of study is available in Chitral, the quality of education may not be the same as in an established institution in Pakistan or abroad. An MBA from a local institution or through distance education can never be of the same quality as the MBA from IBA, Karachi. The point is NOT that all MBA students should go to IBA, but those who can qualify and afford it, must go to IBA. Similarly, all students cannot afford to study in UK or elsewhere outside Pakistan, but those who can afford it, must explore the opportunities to study abroad.

 

Dr Mir Afzal Tajik,

Chitral.

01 March, 2010

 

Colonialism in the garb of education

By Islamuddin
Hats off to Talat Hussain for having taken the trouble to visit London to apprise us of the plight of our students who went there in search of better education and quality life .He has given us reality check through his live program on Aaj T.V, which is an eye openers for all those students who prefer foreign qualifications over their local degrees. It was painful to hear the interviews of students who now face bleak future despite having spent more than a million rupees in just six months after their arrival in London.

These students had gone there for higher studies, which they wanted to finance by doing part time job in their host country as was promised to them by the consultants .These jobs are now difficult to come by. Those who are fortunate enough to find jobs, though menial ones are barely able to meet the cost of boarding and lodging and fee of the colleges is paid through resources summoned from back home in Pakistan. In this way Pakistan is losing precious foreign exchange in return for nothing. Had these students decided to stay back and continued their education in Pakistan, the pressure on our foreign currency reserves would have been reduced considerably.

The fact that most of these colleges are fake and substandard adds salt to injury. It is all the more shocking that Pakistani consultants misguide these students for petty amounts, which they receive as commissions from these fake colleges in return for sending them admissions. Some of these colleges get closed by the time the students reach there, while some others close down midway forcing the students to seek admission in other college, thus doubling the cost of their education and stay.

The students interviewed admitted that there was no big difference between the quality of education in London and Pakistan. In fact some Pakistani institutions, like LUMS, FAST and others offered better education at half the cost as compared to U.K but the slavish mentality of local employers forces our students to get foreign degrees to gain competitive advantage in the job market. That is precisely the reason why our institutions perform so much below the standard. Many students studying in U.K institutions stated that very little instructions take place in these colleges and most of the work is done by the students themselves. Not more than two classes take place in a week and the remaining time gets wasted roaming aimlessly around the campus. Thus Pakistan’s brain drain results in knowledge and income generation for another country.
The security driven dispensation, emerging in the post 9/11 scenario has made life miserable for these students. The racial slurs and suspicions are having damning effect on their psychology. For continued stay in U.K these students have to lose their self respect and develop a negative mindset. If these young people do come back to Pakistan, they bring along their mindset which plays havoc on the self respect of their country men. It is, therefore, not surprising that we are losing our self respect as a nation. Self respect is a nation's soul and a nation without soul becomes a laughing stock in the comity of nations.

A foreign qualified person, if he or she is not able to contextualize his/her knowledge to solve local problems, while working in Pakistan, which mostly they can not, becomes more a liability than an asset for the institution where he is working. The crisis of our national identity and social fragmentation owe much to this phenomenon. It is time that our Govt. formulated a policy to discourage students from going abroad to study in the specialities which are locally available in good quality. However students pursuing education in fields which are not locally available may be helped to seek admissions abroad. Consultants and commission agents sending students abroad should registered having official oversight. Fake and unscrupulous commission agents may be penalized.

Our Miniseries of Education and Foreign Affairs must get a wake up call and so should Chitralies, who are increasingly becoming fascinated with the prospect to study abroad.Talat Hussain's documentaries, have brought home many issues including the role of Embassies and Education Attaches. If our students in the host countries face the kind of problems depicted in the program under reference then what is the use of white elephants? It was time they developed better coordination and remained current with regard to the status and legality of foreign institutions and our own needs. Parliamentary oversight, through the relevant standing committees, needs to be strengthened to keep the departments concerned on their toes and to protect public interest.

In Chitral we are facing problems of another kind. Our students are increasingly moving out to cities for higher education, despite the fact that we have equally good if not better institutions in Chitral, imparting general education leading up to MA, MSC, M.Com and MBA degress. Now a state of the art vocational institute is also coming up in Chitral..But the trend set by few well off parents to send their children to cities for education not only places avoidable pressure on our economy but also creates demonstration effect on other students, who pressurize their parents to send them out. This trend, which is becoming a fashion and status symbols, has run many parents into indebtedness. The excuse that cities offer better environment for studies is misplaced because Chitral offers far better institutional environment for education, though there may be problems in the domestic environment. But this is something which can be improved easily by the students and parents themselves if they have the intention and the will to do so. This would help improve local economies as well as the education sector.

 

 

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