Education: the economic angle

Ijaz A. Qureshi

22 November 2024

Published in: DAWN

“The economy is the start and end of everything. You can’t have successful education reform or any other reform if you don’t have a strong economy.” — David Cameron

IN the age of information, economies are dependent on knowledge workers. The more innovative the higher education institutions in a country, the better the economy. Graduates produced without knowing what organisation they would be serving simply means the workforce isn’t market-ready.

This situation would not only create further stress for the graduates due to unemployment but would also burden the economy, ie, no value added. When the number of unemployed graduates rises, the youth will resort to activities that are not healthy for them and not supportive of the economy.

Worth mentioning here are two of our neighbours. The exports of India and Iran are continuously on the rise. The most important reason for this undoubtedly is the education system — what’s taught at university is helping the economy.

Software exports in India in FY2024 touched $205.2 billion; the US was the major destination, with 54pc of total exports reaching there and 31pc went to Europe, where the UK was the major destination. Overall, India’s exports are expected to cross $800bn across the world soon.

At the same time, our other neighbour, Iran, has touched $98.2bn in exports, despite being impacted by the serious economic sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union that prevent the country from reaching its full economic potential. While Indian exports include software products and services, plus other items, Iran is gradually moving from oil-only products to consumer goods and UAVs mostly used in warzones.

When a comparison is made with our neighbours’ export figures, Pakistani and global intellectuals and policymakers should sit up and reflect on the situation. Among the first questions that come to mind is: what are our universities doing and what contribution should they be making to economic growth in Pakistan?

It seems that our universities simply follow the ‘research publication’ area and overlook other extremely important responsibilities, such as best teaching practices, industry collaborations and engagement, and producing confident, knowledgeable students, who have been prepared for a cutting-edge world. International rankings show that Pakistan stands at number 30 out of 245 in the category of countries with the most publications in scientific research. Apparently, it has left behind countries like Singapore and other fast-moving economies. On the face of it, this might appear to be a convincing effort, but where is the reflection of this research work in the economy?

It seems like there is a numbers game when it comes to research publications. University faculties are financially rewarded for the number of publications they put out; it is a quick cash-creating win-win for authors and institutions. Authors get cash and their name is added to the existing list of publications, which the university in question reports to global ranking agencies for enhanced marketing results. The faculty is fully aware of the fact that working with industry won’t produce immediate results and neither will the university acknowledge the time and energy invested, as nothing is visible in the short run.

MS theses and PhD dissertations are completed as research articles — without any consideration for local industry. There are several benefits of involving local industry in university research activities. For example, students will not be unemployed after graduation. Secondly, they will receive a certain honorarium if projects are completed in collaboration with a local industry. And third, the university will correct its direction and build its reputation in a specific domain, like Stanford University has in science and technology, UC Davis in agriculture sciences and USC Los Angeles in film and communication.

For Pakistan, to catch up with its neighbours, it is imperative that higher education institutions set right their focus. They should target the industry in their community and work closely with them to add value. The cottage industry can produce high-value products. In some cases, university administrators who have never ventured into practical business would not understand the cottage industry and value addition. The idea is not simply to increase exports but to also add value to them — in a way that does not require expensive technology to complete this process. This is achievable provided there is a willingness to go the extra mile. An example of value-addition are dairy products — just one area that many of our small cities are known for.

The university regulators need to create a culture of increased industry engagement to enhance practical research skills and to boost the local economy through academic input. The colleges (now offering associate degree programmes) should be encouraged to adhere to professional qualifications — ADP in computer science, software engineering, and animation and game design can put our young researchers in the queue of professionals. They can then contribute towards turning around the country’s fortunes as freelancers or as employees of organisations working with foreign clients.

Finally, another important aspect missing in the university system is the training of students as members of customer services teams. Young graduates have no clue that in the US and Europe, it is normal for CEOs to be part of a team serving customers in the retail environment. The ability to communicate with foreign clients using correct and comprehensible language skills can also contribute to making our graduate market-ready and a real asset for industry.