Higher learning.

UNIVERSITIES are like incubators where new, bright ideas are born, and where young minds pursue journeys of intellectual discovery. Sadly, in Pakistan, as with the rest of the education sector, seats of higher learning are not immune to multiple crises, affecting output. As reported recently, only 12 Pakistani varsities - out of over 100 - made it to the QS world subject rankings.

Commenting on the rankings, the Higher Education Commission chairman told this paper that only those varsities appeared on the list that shared their data with the firm, while acknowledging that there was a need to improve the quality of public-sector universities.

The global ranking of universities by various firms is, of course, not free from controversy, as some academics have questioned the transparency of the process, but there can be little doubt that in the current scenario, universities in Pakistan - with a few honourable exceptions - are hardly delivering world-class graduates.

Since at least the Musharraf era the focus seems to have been on quantity rather than quality. The late general revamped the HEC and provided it with ample funds, but in the decades since, we have yet to see any great flowering of intellectual talent in our varsities. Both the public and private sectors have their own issues.

Most public universities, which are the only option for the vast...

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