EDITORIAL : THE DAILY DAWN, PAKISTAN

HEC devolution

REPORTS that the government plans to devolve higher education to the provinces have left many in the world of academia — as well as others concerned with the state of education in Pakistan — unsettled. In particular, the fact that parliament’s implementation commission on the 18th Amendment is considering splitting the Higher Education Commission into smaller units has raised eyebrows. The HEC, an autonomous body, is currently mandated with regulating the higher education sector in Pakistan. That may change if the parliamentary committee has its way. However, there seems to be a consensus in acade-mic circles that devolving higher education is a bad idea. Experts feel that higher education should remain with the federal government to maintain uniformity and to ensure that students don’t suffer. Former HEC chairman Prof Atta-ur-Rahman says the commission already has representation from the provinces.

There are claims and counter-claims about how the HEC has performed over the last decade or so. The commission’s defen-ders say that ever since the University Grants Commission was restructured into the HEC, it has had a positive impact on Pakistan’s higher education sector. They cite an increase in the number of academic publications, the fact that some Pakistani universities have improved their global rankings, increased university enrolment and a greater number of PhDs as proof of success. Others, however, pose some very valid questions regarding the HEC’s performance. They say the commission has concentrated on quantity as opposed to quality; a greater number of universities or PhDs has not exactly translated into better institutions or more capable scholars. Yet despite its weaknesses, it is fair to say the HEC has indeed brought about a positive change in higher education.

Devolving higher education can perhaps be re-visited at a later stage. However, we feel that right now, the timing for such a move is not right and the risks of experimenting with higher education are far too high. Education in Pakistan is already in the doldrums; devolving higher education may make a bad situation worse. Observers point out that the provinces lack the capacity as well as infrastructure to manage higher education. They say the move may lead to greater politicisation of education. Some academics have said that a central body is essential to oversee the universities’ financial affairs, provide a road map for the future and maintain monitoring capability. It is said that other states in the region — India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka — all have central authorities that regulate higher education. Reform of the HEC should definitely be considered to plug the loopholes. But the government should not throw out the baby with the bathwater for the sake of expediency.

Arab turmoil

REGIMES considered invincible have fallen or been shaken by the popular uprising that has rocked the Arab world from the Gulf to the Atlantic since the beginning of the year. While Muammar Qadhafi tries desperately to cling on to power, and people die and homes burn, the situation in Syria and Jordan too indicates a higher level of protests. While at least one demonstrator has died in Jordan, the number of casualties and conditions in Bashar al-Assad’s fiefdom are difficult to assess because of the restrictions on local and foreign media, although according to Amnesty International 55 people have been killed. Violence previously confined to Deraa has spread to several cities, including Hama, Latakia and Damascus, where the demonstrators started a fire under the statue of the late Hafez al-Assad, the president’s father, and pro- and anti-regime partisans have clashed.

The issue in Syria and Jordan is, again, freedom and the people’s rage against the continuation of decades-old authoritarian regimes which lack legitimacy. According to the foreign media, the Syrian president is a popular figure. He has promised to concede some ground, including a possible end to the emergency imposed in 1963. However, to quote a cliché, this is too little, too late. Thanks to the electronic media, the wave of freedom ignited in the Maghreb has spread like wildfire throughout the Middle East, presenting the rulers, whether monarchs or civilian despots, with a stark choice: either give freedom to the people or go the way of Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak. The Arab masses have reason to be angry. The humiliations which they have suffered — Palestine and Iraq come to mind immediately — stem directly from their rulers’ failure to give franchise to their people, industrialise their countries, acquire science and technology, create modern, egalitarian societies through economic equality, establish a wider social base that could give a stake to their people in the running of their states and take the Middle East into the 21st century. Repression is counterproductive. It may give a breather to dictatorial regimes, but in the end it is the people’s will that triumphs.

Domestic violence bill

MUCH that is amiss in Pakistan could be solved if the administration displayed the ability to follow through. One finds many instances in which, after having taken the first step in the right direction, the government seems to lose its bearings and change direction, thus leaving the task unfulfilled. Consider the fate of the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill. It was passed unanimously by the National Assembly in August 2009, but lapsed after the Senate failed to pass it within the three months stipulated by the constitution. Since then, little effort has been made to re-table and pass it. The proposed law had widespread support, even though it was opposed by some conservative elements. It was hailed by human rights and women’s rights bodies as an impressive step towards protecting women, children and others including the aged and infirm, who are vulnerable to a form of abuse that while pervasive remains largely invisible to society.

Now, it appears that there may be movement on the issue. The governor of Punjab, Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa, said in Dera Ghazi Khan on Friday that his government will soon adopt the law. It is to be hoped that this is not mere rhetoric. Were they to pass into law, the bill’s provisions may prove to be of great value in upholding women and children’s rights and protecting citizens who are vulnerable to abuse. As matters stand, victims of domestic violence face double injustice: abuse and then a lack of protection extended by the government. As a party that claims to champion women’s rights and was led by a woman, the PPP needs to be reminded of its commitments. While the state dillydallies over the bill, the rights of countless domestic abuse victims continue to be violated, and the law continues to offer them no recourse.