Pakistani Universities and the Issue of Freedom of Expression
By: Dr. Sohail Mahmood
Much has been written in the national press on the February 4 thrashing incident of Tahir Malik, lecturer International Relations Department by the Registrar NUML. The university faculty unanimously condemned the brutality of the NUML registrar and forced his resignation, seemingly against the wishes of the NUML authority. The university faculty’s bold stance has now been vindicated. The particular thrashing incident acted as a tipping point of sorts in the university and it changed it forever. The faculty have been galvanized and mobilized as never before because of this specific incident. Firstly, a candid review of the Pakistani universities setups was in order. Undoubtedly, there was much to be desired in this area. The obvious question is the failure of our universities. It is stark fact that Pakistan had failed at establishing world–class universities. Various reasons are given, such as: paucity of funding, lack of political will, acute centralization, low–quality teachers, malaise, and the absence of a conducive teaching and research environment. In sum the situation is grave and the failure is widespread and systematic, to say the least. However, most ills can be removed with hard work and resolve of all relevant stakeholders.
Much has been written in the national press on the February 4 thrashing incident of Tahir Malik, lecturer International Relations Department by the Registrar NUML. The university faculty unanimously condemned the brutality of the NUML registrar and forced his resignation, seemingly against the wishes of the NUML authority. The university faculty’s bold stance has now been vindicated. The particular thrashing incident acted as a tipping point of sorts in the university and it changed it forever. The faculty have been galvanized and mobilized as never before because of this specific incident. Firstly, a candid review of the Pakistani universities setups was in order. Undoubtedly, there was much to be desired in this area. The obvious question is the failure of our universities. It is stark fact that Pakistan had failed at establishing world–class universities. Various reasons are given, such as: paucity of funding, lack of political will, acute centralization, low–quality teachers, malaise, and the absence of a conducive teaching and research environment. In sum the situation is grave and the failure is widespread and systematic, to say the least. However, most ills can be removed with hard work and resolve of all relevant stakeholders.