This refers to the article, ‘Higher education reforms’ (May 24) by Dr Javaid Laghari. The writer has asserted that the number of international research publications by Pakistani universities gradually increased by 2013. However, the methodology employed by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) accords weightage to citations per faculty – not to the number of publications.
The more highly cited research papers a university publishes, the stronger its research output is considered. The writer has also claimed that vice chancellors were selected by search committees during 2009 to 2013, and not by the government. The fact is that the majority of VCs have been appointed on the basis of political contacts. This has been happening since long, including the period cited by the writer. If we look at the rankings of universities, the onus of earning good reputation lies more on universities, than on higher education commissions.
Dr Najeeb A Khan
Islamabad
*****
Our higher education system has achieved an embarrassing score of 9.2 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Higher Education System Strength Rankings 2016.
We are destined to be doomed; owing to just 2.49 percent spending on education and the lowest standard of quality education in our institutions, producing illiterates at an alarming rate.
Dr Irfan Zafar
Islamabad
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