Financial crisis hit higher education sector hard: report

05 Jul, 2009

Financial crisis faced by the country has hit the higher education sector hard, Planning Commission report unveiled. According to official statistics, number of new development projects was reduced from 116 during 2007-08 to 29 during 2008-09.
Overall spending on development projects was reduced to Rs 8167.760 million during 2008-09 from Rs 15390.455 million during 2007-08. Adversely hit were the research and development projects, overseas scholarships for Ph.D and MS leading to Ph.D, post doctoral fellowship and local Ph.D scholarships.
According to official sources, the government is making serious efforts to improve the access and quality of education by enhancing educational facilities within the minimum possible time. The government has launched various milestone-oriented policies according to educational development phases and status.
According to Planning Commission's future plan, at present the quality and coverage of education and vocational training do not provide the necessary skill base for sustainable high growth in the country. A basic objective of the Tenth Plan (2010-15) would be to move the country out of the low quality of education, low skills, low productivity and low expectations trap which permeates in most spheres of national activity.
Attaining gender and regional parity in terms of opportunities for education and employment is a major challenge due to large regional variations and low female enrolment and retention that needs to be addressed. The instruments for this change will be the dissemination of wide-ranging education and skills up-gradation and training of the workforce to enhance its employability, productivity and competitiveness. Educated and trained manpower will address the challenges of changing workplace, changing demand for skills and challenges hindering movement towards population planning, gender and regional parity.
If decline in fertility rate is matched with an emphasis on increased enrolment, the target of universal primary education will be attained by 2015, with a proportionate increase in secondary and consequently in higher educational enrolment and attainment. An attempt will be made in the Tenth Plan (2010-15) that under 25 age group have an average of 10 years of education while tertiary enrolment also grows accordingly.
Additional personnel, equipment, physical infrastructure and other financial flows will need to be arranged, with higher management and delivery capacity to achieve these goals. Furthermore, greater access to quality education in both rural and urban areas will be a major aim of the plan, Planning Commission report disclosed.
According to new future plan, formulation and effective implementation of a comprehensive education and training policies are key to the change. Besides, science and technology there needs to be an equal focus on the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts, which provide the human face to S&T. To meet these challenges education strategies of the Tenth Plan will need to include the following. Generating an educational environment which encourages the thinking process ('learning how to learn'). Removing teacher shortages; enhancing their salaries, status, along with pedagogical skills.
Universal enrolment at primary level and completion of education for a minimum of ten years with gender and regional parity and raising enrolment at tertiary level of education.
Increase public expenditure on education to 4 percent of GDP by 2015; with simultaneous enhancement in planning, management and delivery capacity of the education administrators. Greater investment in skill generation during and after 10 years of schooling. Establishing standardised curriculum and examination system under state responsibility, provision of research based education having institutional linkages with industry and workplace.
Upgradation of at least ten top universities of Pakistan to enable them to become external campuses of leading world universities and be able to offer foreign degrees from here. Ensuring relevance of curricula and educational practices to meet the needs of the society and the market. Creating a set of skills and aptitudes enabling employability and productivity simultaneously with character building.

Read Comments