Letters to the Editor Dated: April 15,2011 The Editor, Daily DAWN, Karachi Dear Sir, The beneficiaries of the Higher Education Commission, loyalists of the military dictator and supporters of One Unit have all ganged up against 18 th amendment on pretext of devolution of HEC has raised such a rumpus that obscures its real face. Here are some facts about the organization for your readers to judge. Fact No. 1: The HEC came into existence as a supreme regulatory authority, in 2002 on the very eve of the first meeting of the newly elected parliament, through a decree promulgated by the despotic military dictator. The ordinance had never been debated in the elected parliament. The HEC by its very constitution is thus autocratic. It does not advise, it dictates. It does not suggest,, it orders. During the past eight and half years the HEC has managed to usurp academic freedom and University autonomy, consequently the acts through which the public sector universities were established have become redundant. HEC now controls every aspect of university affairs from admissions, curriculum and appointments. The constitution of the HEC had tickled the dictator’s fancy, as it laid great emphasis on compliance and regimentation. The dictator thought it useful to indoctrinate his professed notion of moderate enlightenment. Fact No. 2. The HEC has made a mockery of research by supporting irrationality, abnormality and absurdity in the academic environment. Some of the absurdities are i) ii) iii) iv)
A physics professor publishing 80 research paper during a SINGLE calendar year. A university professor producing 30 Ph.D.’s in two years. A research scientist concurrently supervising 76 Ph.D. scholars And many more examples can be cited
HEC in fact has started a mad race for Ph.D.s and research publications through introduction of productivity allowance for researchers; and that too without a transparent refereeing and evaluation mechanism. This also occurred in western countries during early twentieth century. A German Physicist and Noble laureate Prof. Wolfgang Pauli had took exception to this trend and aptly remarked “I do not mind dear doctor if you think slowly, but I do mind if you publish faster than you think” FACT No. 3: The HEC is guilty of promoting commercialism in higher education by granting recognition to a number ill-reputed institutions; making exorbitant profit on hapless customers. These institutions frequently advertise in Sunday Newspapers offering higher degrees wrapped in fancy packages, such as, Sunday package, Weekend package, Ramadan package, Muharram
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