Are our provincial and central governments indifferent to all the affairs of Pakistan's private and public universities? Have private and public universities been given free rein to accept commons and collect exorbitant fees from students without any restraint?
There does not seem to be any questioning authority that can inquire from the management of public and private universities that students are being charged exorbitant fees even in the name of sitting for entrance tests.
I probably wouldn't have known about this Hour if I hadn't had the opportunity to hear the problems of some children at home.
Everyone has seen and heard about the tragic clash between protesting students and police in front of the PMC building in Islamabad.
Four friends of my eldest son had come to our poor house. Five friends including my son have recently done BS Engineering. Now everyone is planning to do MS in their favorite fields. They were talking in the meeting that I also went to them with permission.
All of them wanted to get admission in new MS classes together, but first they had to go through written stages of separate entrance tests in three universities of Islamabad. And even before this stage, they had to pay entrance fees for tests in private and public universities.
When I inquired about the test fee, I was surprised and worried. One university was demanding Rs 5,000 for the entrance test, another Rs 3,000 and a fourth Rs 2,500. I was wondering what is the meaning of thousands of rupees for entrance test alone? The test questionnaire consists of just a small piece of paper.
And that's it. Students who take the test arrive at the university at their own expense. Even clean water is not provided in the examination room. Then what is the purpose of this test fee in thousands of rupees?
My curiosity increased and the next day I reached the relevant department of a university. My son kept forbidding me, but I arrived. The clerk in charge of the department asked the king some questions about the details of the entrance test fee, which was received in thousands of rupees. Instead of giving a proper and satisfying answer, he came to pluck my hair.
My son watched silently with distinction. He just said: "Dad, that's why I told you that there is no point in finding out the reason from these people, let's go home. I'm suffering.
Even more troubling is the fact that less resourceful parents want to adorn their children with the ornaments of higher education. Where do they go Where to complain? Where do they meet these hefty entrance test fees? And even if you get admitted, where do you get the fee of lakhs of rupees per semester? Remember that the fee for each semester in every private and public university of "Watan Aziz" is not less than one hundred thousand rupees. In addition to the fees, thousands of rupees are incurred on baby clothes, transport, hostel, out-of-pocket expenses.
Whether the university is private or public, the cost per semester is at least Rs. 200,000 per semester. More than four lakh rupees in a year. And if three children of a parent are going to university at the same time and the salary of the father is only Rs.
It seems that this change of government has become irrelevant to the universities of Pakistan. This alienation has reached the point where the administration of the universities has become unruly and ungrateful.
They are being checked and there is no standard of supervision. The government's indifference to the problems and sufferings of students has reached such a "height" that HEC has stopped providing scholarships to the brightest students.
When asked about HEC, she answers bluntly: What should we do? Change The government has withheld our funds or cut the funds. If HEC's statement is heard, it wants to tear it's poor in horror.
It is the turn of the government to change the scholarships of our students who have gone abroad for higher education on government scholarships. Allegedly, the scholarships have also been stopped.
But the lice did not crawl on the ears of the government. It is as if this government and its responsible agents are disgusted with everything called education.
Getting an education and getting admission in educational institutions has never been as difficult and complicated as it is now. The central government, under the Eighteenth Amendment, has given up education anyway.
Then, if the educated people keep their sorrows before whom? The Prime Minister is pursuing his populist politics by making statements against the English language, and in Punjab the language of his Education Minister seems to be less Urdu and more English. By the way, the government's statement to introduce the same curriculum in the whole country is also very funny.
Jokes are appearing everywhere. Talking about educational issues on our media has become a thing of the past anyway. The pain of parents is increasing day by day on the basis of serious and fundamental questions. The passion for politics prevails over every issue.
The state has become completely alienated from education and educated people. By the way, the demand of the state for patriotism from its highly educated youth is increasing day by day. If the state and state institutions deliberately fail to provide basic and necessary food for their educated people, then how can patriotic songs be sung in which language?
From where will the highly educated young man with an empty stomach and unemployment cry out for patriotism? A PIDE survey has revealed that the rate of unemployed university graduates in Pakistan is 21%. Could this rate be a source of pride for our rulers?
A survey conducted by Gallup a year ago found that 60% of postgraduate women holders in Pakistan are unemployed. When Pakistan was formed, there were only two universities in the country with only 600 students. Today the number of these private and public universities has reached 200 and the flood of unemployment has reached the neck in the country. Who cares?
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