Elevating higher education: Reforms for global competitiveness

 Higher education plays a pivotal role in shaping a nation’s socio-economic landscape by driving innovation, fostering economic growth and cultivating a skilled workforce. In Pakistan, a country with a significant youth population, the higher education sector faces critical challenges and opportunities. Despite strides in expanding access, there are persistent gaps in quality, relevance, research output and global competitiveness. This article explores the current state of higher education in Pakistan, identifies key challenges and proposes comprehensive reforms aimed at aligning Pakistan’s higher education system with global standards.

Historical context since Pakistan’s independence in 1947, higher education has evolved significantly. Initially accessible to a privileged few, efforts have democratized access over the decades. The establishment of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in 2002 marked a milestone, enhancing funding and structural reforms. Yet, many challenges persist despite these advancements.

Challenges:

1. Enrollment and access: Pakistan boasts over 212 universities today, a significant increase from around 30 in 1947, with more than 1.9 million students enrolled in 2023. However, the gross enrollment ratio in higher education remains around 10%, lower than the global average, highlighting disparities in access.
2. Quality and relevance: While access has expanded, concerns about educational quality persist. Many institutions suffer from inadequate infrastructure, outdated curricula and insufficient faculty. Graduates often lack the skills demanded by the job market, hindering their employability.
3. Research and innovation: Research and innovation are essential indicators of a vibrant higher education system. Pakistan lags in this area due to limited funding, inadequate infrastructure and weak industry-academia collaboration, resulting in subpar research outcomes and innovation.
4. Governance and funding: Effective governance and funding are critical for sustainable development. Bureaucratic inefficiencies, political interference and insufficient funding plague many universities, impacting their autonomy and operational capabilities.
5. Private universities: Private universities in Pakistan, despite contributing over 40% to the country’s trained manpower production, face significant neglect from federal and provincial governments, and their respective Higher Education Commissions (HECs) regarding funding, research project support, students fee concessions, laptop distributions and students’ scholarship schemes. To rectify this disparity, Pakistan could look to models from the USA and Europe, where private universities thrive through robust financial models, substantial endowments and strong government support. These universities benefit from tax-exempt status, competitive research funding and public-private partnerships that enhance their financial stability and academic excellence. They also have access to government scholarships and grants, ensuring talented students can attend regardless of financial background. By providing similar financial benefits, including endowment support, tax incentives, research grants, and equal access to government scholarships, Pakistan can empower its private universities to enhance educational quality and innovation, contributing more effectively to the nation’s socio-economic development
6.  Alumni associations: In our majority universities, alumni associations exist but are not active. Our universities need to establish dedicated alumni offices to manage and coordinate alumni activities, maintain up-to-date contact information, and foster regular communication. They should develop online platforms, such as social media groups, dedicated websites and mobile apps, to connect alumni and provide news, event updates and donation options. Organizing regular events, including reunions, professional networking events and webinars, is essential to keep alumni engaged and offer them opportunities to contribute. Universities should create giving programs, such as annual giving campaigns, endowment funds, and named scholarships funded by alumni donations, while recognizing and honoring contributors. Establishing career centers to facilitate mentorship, internships, and job placements through the alumni network is crucial. Additionally, regularly publishing alumni success stories in newsletters, magazines, and on social media will showcase their achievements and contributions, enhancing the university’s reputation.

Key Challenges: There are many challenges but a few of them are as under:

1. Quality of education: Many higher education institutions in Pakistan fail to meet international standards due to outdated teaching methods, inadequate resources and a shortage of qualified faculty. The reliance on underqualified instructors undermines educational quality.
2. Curriculum and pedagogy: Curricula often do not align with industry needs, lacking emphasis on entrepreneurial ability, innovation, critical thinking, communication and practical skills. Pedagogical methods are traditional, hindering innovation and students’ engagement.
3. Research and development: Research in our universities suffers from underfunding and poor management. Limited collaboration with industry, lack of interdisciplinary linkages, absence of internalization and inadequate research infrastructure further inhibit impactful research outcomes.
4. Governance and autonomy: Political interference and bureaucratic hurdles impede effective governance and autonomy within public sector universities, affecting decision-making and operational efficiency. However, private sector universities don’t face this challenge and that is why their progression speed is far higher than public sector universities.
5. Access and equity: While access has improved, disparities persist based on gender, socioeconomic status and geographic location. Rural and underprivileged communities face barriers to quality higher education.
6. Lack of act implementation: The university must implement university act in letter and spirit but unfortunately majority universities hardly implement it. For example, according to any university act, faculty’s appointment is 100% on selection and no promotion. But universities promote the existing faculty to next cadre under the guise of university selection board. This results into inbreeding, impeding exchange of knowledge and innovation, deteriorating faculty quality and that is why our universities’ performance in research and innovation is extremely poor.
7. No meritocracy: The university selection hardly select faculty on merit but political, parochial, caste, sect, and regional bases. This has deteriorated faculty’s quality, subsequently adversely affecting output of the faculty.
8. Private and public sector universities in Pakistan should be treated alike regarding financial benefits, including research grants, fee concessions, scholarship schemes, laptop distribution, support for establishing laboratories, sports infrastructure development and other funding initiatives. This equitable treatment would ensure that all universities, irrespective of their funding sources, have the resources needed to enhance educational quality, promote research and innovation and provide comprehensive support to their students. By leveling the playing field, the government can foster a more inclusive and competitive higher education landscape that benefits the entire nation.     

Proposed Reforms: To enhance Pakistan’s higher education system and foster global competitiveness, a comprehensive reform agenda is essential:

Proposed Reforms: To elevate higher education in Pakistan and enhance its global competitiveness, a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach is required. 

Improving Quality of Education:

1. Faculty Development: Establish continuous professional development programs for faculty to enhance their teaching skills and stay updated with the latest pedagogical trends through training and development programs.
2. Attracting Talent: Introduce competitive salaries and incentives to attract and retain qualified faculty members, including expatriates, foreign scholars, adjunct faculty, honorary academicians and researchers.
3. Infrastructure and Resources: Invest in modern infrastructure, including state-of-the-art laboratories, libraries, technological resources and state of the art sports infrastructure to support quality education.
4. Resource Allocation: Ensure adequate allocation of resources for academic activities, including textbooks, journals and digital resources.

Curriculum and Pedagogical Reforms:

1. Curriculum Modernization: Through industry collaboration, involving industry experts in curriculum development to ensure alignment with current job market needs and technological advancements. A strong academia-industry linkage will ensure well-rounded graduates, contributing locally and globally to meet societal needs.
2. Interdisciplinary Programs: Promote interdisciplinary programs that encourage innovation and critical thinking.

Pedagogical Innovations:

1. Active Learning: Adopt active learning strategies such as project-based learning, flipped classrooms, and experiential learning to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes.
2. Technology Integration: Leverage technology to enhance teaching and learning, including the use of e-learning platforms, virtual labs and online resources.

Enhancing Research and Development:

1. Funding and Resources: Increase funding for research projects through competitive grants and encourage universities to seek external funding from industry and international organizations, providing equal opportunity to both public and private universities equally.
2. Industry Partnerships: Foster collaboration between academia and industry to promote applied research and innovation.
3. Research Infrastructure: Invest in research infrastructure, including laboratories, equipment, and digital resources.
4. Collaboration and Innovation: Foster collaboration between academia and industry to promote applied research and innovation.
5. Research Centers of Excellence: Establish centers of excellence in key research areas to promote high-quality research and attract top talent.

Governance and Accountability:

1. Leadership Accountability: Develop evaluation mechanism and implement this rigorous evaluation system for Vice Chancellors (VCs), Deans, and Chairpersons based on clear-cut performance targets set annually. These targets should encompass areas such as academic excellence, research productivity, institutional governance, and student outcomes.
2. Annual Performance Reviews: Conduct annual performance reviews to assess the achievements and shortcomings of university leaders. Evaluation criteria should include the institution’s progress towards strategic goals, financial management, faculty development, and community engagement.
3. Accountability Standards: Establish transparent accountability standards where university leaders are held accountable for their decisions and actions. Failure to meet performance targets or uphold ethical standards should result in appropriate consequences, including potential removal from their positions.
4. Faculty Appointments and Evaluation: Ensure faculty appointments are based on merit, with clear criteria related to teaching excellence, research productivity and institutional service.
5. Annual Evaluation: Implement annual evaluations for faculty members to assess their contributions in teaching, research, and service to the institution.
6. Publication Requirements: Maintain stringent publication requirements for faculty members, including minimum annual impact factor publications as previously outlined.

Enhancing Access and Equity:

1. Financial Support: Increase the availability of scholarships and financial aid programs to support students, both public and private universities equally, from underprivileged backgrounds.
2. Student Loans: Establish a robust student loan system with favorable terms to make higher education more accessible.
3. Outreach Programs: Establish satellite campuses and distance learning centers to increase access in rural areas through both public and private universities.
4. Gender Equity: Promote gender equity in higher education through targeted initiatives to increase female enrollment and retention rates in both public and private universities.

HEC’s role:

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) should not be the accreditation and degree attesting body. Instead, an autonomous third-party body should be created for these purposes, similar to systems in the USA and Europe, to improve education quality. HEC should focus on providing policies and funding, as handling accreditation and degree attestation simultaneously creates conflicts of interest and inefficiencies.

 Implementation Strategy: Successful implementation of these reforms requires collaboration among stakeholders:

1. Government: Develop a comprehensive policy framework, increase budgetary allocation, and strengthen regulatory oversight.
2. Higher Education Institutions: Align strategic plans with national goals, enhance faculty development, and foster industry partnerships.
3. Industry: Support curriculum development, invest in education, and provide opportunities for practical training.
4. International Partners: Facilitate knowledge exchange, fund research initiatives, and enhance institutional capacity through collaboration.
5. Donation system: The government must encourage donors to support both public and private universities. The donors may be given rebate in taxes and other financial incentives.
6. Legislation: The disparity between public sector and private sector universities be removed through legislation.
7. Budget, research grants, grants for center of excellence and government’s time to time benefits be equally given to both sectors as both serve country’s students.
8. Both sectors be treated alike by both federal and provincial governments and their respective HECs.     

Conclusion: Elevating our higher education system to global standards is challenging yet achievable with concerted efforts from government, institutions, industry, and international partners. By addressing quality, relevance, research, governance, accountability, and access, Pakistan can build a robust higher education sector that drives innovation, economic growth, and societal development. The successful implementation of these reforms requires a coordinated effort from multiple stakeholders, including the government, higher education institutions, industry, and international partners. By addressing quality, relevance, research, governance, accountability and access, our country can create a higher education system that not only meets national needs but also competes globally. This commitment to reform and accountability will pave the way for a stronger, more resilient higher education sector in Pakistan, capable of driving innovation, economic growth and societal development. This transformation will position Pakistan competitively on the global stage, contributing to knowledge creation and human capital development.