Tuesday, March 12, 2002

Pakistan Plans Restructuring of Higher Education, With Emphasis on Technology and Engineering By MARTHA ANN OVERLAND New Delhi Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, announced last week that the government plans to overhaul the nation's entire system of higher education. As part of the new strategy, information technology and engineering will be given the highest priority. In two speeches delivered at the University of Karachi on Friday, President Musharraf said that the government would emphasize information technology, engineering, and the biological sciences in order to meet the industrial needs of the country. "Education is key to Pakistan's progress," he said. To fulfill the demand for computer engineers, Pakistan is opening 10 new information-technology institutes. One recently opened in Abbottabad, and similar institutes are being planned for the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. The government also plans to begin using distance-education programs to train more computer engineers. The president announced that Pakistan's first virtual university will open March 23. "A communication satellite will be placed in orbit by the end of the year, which will facilitate the distance-learning programs," said Mr. Musharraf. A separate educational-TV channel is being established under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Atta-ur-Rahman, Pakistan's minister for science and technology, said he expects 20,000 students to be enrolled in the virtual university by next year. Initially, the university will offer distance-education courses in information technology. Eventually, students will be able to earn four-year degrees as well as postgraduate degrees. "The true root of poverty resolution is high technology," said Mr. Rahman, who is spearheading the president's plan. "If we want progress, we have to invest in human resources with an industrial vision. So the four major areas are IT, biotechnology, engineering sciences, and pharmaceuticals." According to Mr. Musharraf and Mr. Rahman, the government is also making Internet connectivity a priority. Two years ago, only 29 cities had Internet access. By June, more than 800 cities and towns and villages will be connected to the Internet, covering 90 percent of Pakistan's population. Mr. Musharraf plans to set up technical institutes to teach computer-science skills in every district of the country. The president said the government was prepared to finance 200 of these training institutes. To improve the overall quality of education and make institutions more accountable to students, Mr. Musharraf said, the government plans to overhaul how the universities are administered. He said a new committee was being formed, which would eventually replace the University Grants Commission, the body that currently oversees educational policy in Pakistan. Mr. Rahman, who will head the new committee, said the current academic body has very little power to make any substantive changes. "The new higher-education commission will lay down minimum standards, provide funding to universities according to performance, and check quality through external peer review," he said. "It will have teeth." Background articles from The Chronicle: Pakistan's President Urges Islamic Nations to Spend Billions on Science and Education (2/19/2002) Pakistan Will Establish a Virtual University (10/05/2001) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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