What our HEC can learn from India
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has made significant contributions since its inception in 2002, however the strategies used by the commission have room for improvement. Statistics clearly show that the quantitative results of the HEC are plausible, with drastically increased university enrollment and a huge army of PhDs in the making on scholarships. The quality of students on the other hand, does not seem too impressive. It is hard to challenge the fact that knowledge is not being produced in the country, and this raises a question: What exactly do we want to achieve with this enormous number of ...
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Great grades mean nothing if you don’t have a chaperone – or a Y chromosome
Meet Maheen*: a hardworking final year A’ Level student. By hardworking, I mean that when Maheen received a B in Chemistry, having lost out by a mark, she stayed back in the library for hours on end every day for three weeks, to finally get an A in the finals. It’s that kind of hard work that translated into 14 As in her O’ Levels, seven of which were A*. Naturally, she had straight As in her AS Levels. She is the kind of girl that you assume will apply to the best colleges. But Maheen is not calling the ...
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Returning to Pakistan
If you’re a Pakistani student studying abroad (US, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia wherever) pursuing whatever degree, people will automatically assume you’re staying there for good. And by people here I’m referring to our fellow countrymen. When you meet them at a gathering or a get-together, such topics are often the subject of discussion. Telling them that you have plans of returning home will earn you looks of utter bewilderment, as if you’ve said something embarrassing. You go back to Pakistan to visit family and friends, and everyone invariably asks you how you are doing abroad, so you tell them you’re getting by ...
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