Root cause
By Saadia Salahuddin
Dr. Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, Vice Chancellor, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar is a noted educationist. As vice chancellor, he modified the old system in the university to a modern, more dynamic and practical one. A PhD in Structural Engineering, and an MBA in Finance, he also has 10 years of experience of working in the US. Among other things, Gilani served as minister for education, information, and youth affairs in the Government of Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa and introduced many reforms.
The News on Sunday (TNS): Recently, there has been much demand for raise in funds for education. What do you say?
Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani (IHG): We need to focus on education. What is the last thing to be left out in a home budget? Kitchen, of course! The family has to be fed above all to survive. Education is to a nation what kitchen is to a home. It is the last thing to be left out. Give four percent of the country’s GDP to education for a period of 10 years and the nation will rise. Meet all the other needs in the rest of the 96 percent. Come what may, there should be no question of cuts in the education budget. We, the university administrators, want a paradigm shift. If you google where Pakistan stands in the world in the allocation of funds to education, you will see that there are only three countries whose budget is less than that of Pakistan. They are Ghana, Equador and Haiti. In the absence of allocation of proper funds to education it will be a collective suicide of the nation. We will not be a marketable commodity. What will you do then?
TNS: Is there any plan to increase funds for the education sector?
IHG: There are plans to increase the education budget to 7 percent of the GDP by 2015 but that seems to be a dream. We are demanding only 4 percent of the GDP for education for the next 10 years and I assure you that will put Pakistan on the road to progress. The 4.9 percent of the GDP is the global average budget for education.
TNS: How can we improve the education system?
IHG: Why are we giving perpetual class-based education? Why do we want one thing for our children and another thing for others? We need to do something about it. It’s important to create equal opportunities. There is no dearth of talent in this country, I tell you. When the government wanted us to make an atomic bomb, we did it. All the defence technology is there. We can make everything in this country but we lack political will. After the 2005 earthquake, UNICEF predicted that one million people would die in the first winter. Nobody died as the nation stood up. Then when the number of internally-displaced people (IDPs) reached 25 lakh in the Khyber Paktunkhwa, the nation again stood up. People have the resilience, they have faith in God. They have been blind-folded by the policy-makers.
TNS: In which specific areas you see the political will missing?
IHG: Education first. It is important to make the public aware that the solution to all their problems lies in credible education. In my view, adequate investment in credible education is that which gets revenues in return — in the form of better-trained Pakistanis who will participate in the development of the country.
TNS: What do you see in the absence of political will?
IHG: If we are not going to invest in education adequately, this country is going to get from bad to worse. This is not a critique of the government. We need to refocus and re-engineer our priorities. Only 5 percent of the raw material (people) is being processed. The 95 percent (people) that is not being processed is producing chaos.
TNS: Recently, the World Bank has announced $200m for education in Pakistan?
IHG: The fact that the World Bank is extending money for education in Pakistan should be appreciated. The bank has been criticised for propagating its own agenda in the Third World but we must acknowledge its support in the education sector in Pakistan because that is where investment gives the highest dividend. Higher Education Commission (HEC) considers WB money ad-on which will hopefully meet the shortfall.
TNS: Being Vice Chancellor of a university, do you have any proposal for universities?
IHG: We should promote collaboration amongst universities in the country and abroad. Internet has opened a new world of communication. We are living in an age where individuals are sharing assets, why can’t institutions. The University of Engineering, Peshawar has an earthquake centre established after the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. We have done great research which is going to benefit the country and the world.
TNS: Are universities helping industry?
IHG: No. There is a big gap between university and industry in our country. Industry says, ‘Your curriculum is not ok. We don’t know who to talk to, how to talk to you". Academics also need to come down to the ground from their ivory towers. They mind when I ask a professor to go to an industry and see what problem they have. Academics are very strong people but they have to learn the language of the streets — industries. The university-industry nexus is important. Academics need to talk to politicians who hold the key to treasures, who are the ones to release money. Instead of criticising we have to cultivate channels of communication. Universities also need to be branded like a product people would like to buy. We cannot be in the society and not be answerable to it.