Doctoral Education and Nation Building- Perspectives from Pakistan

1. Doctoral Education and Nation Building- Perspectives from Pakistan Dr. Nelofer Halai President, Pakistan Association for Research in Education (PARE) Associate Professor, Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development

2. PAKISTAN

3. Higher Education Institutions • One University at the time of independence in 1947; • Now more than 70 Universities or Degree Awarding Institutions (DAI) in the public sector and about 60 in the private sector.

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8. Higher Education Strategy The Medium-Term Development Framework 2005-2010 of HEC • Access to Higher Education; • Faculty Development; • Excellence in Learning and Research; • Relevance to National Priorities.

9. Improving Access • Enrolment rate in higher education of eligible population of ages 17-23 has now risen from a low of 2.6% to 4.7% in 2009 • This still compares unfavorably with India at 11%, Malaysia at 32% and South Korea at 68%

10. Faculty Development • Poorly qualified faculty – only 1700 out of 7000 have a PhD • Each of the 70 public universities’ need at least 300-400 PhD trained faculty

11. Improving Research & Learning • Teaching is predominantly through rote-memorization even at the Masters level; • Little understanding of research and research methods–descriptive survey is the dominant method in the social science; • Publication record of faculty is extremely limited.

13. Infrastructure to Support Research There is not sufficient availability of: • Funds, equipment, libraries and other material resources; • Policies and procedures; • Trained human resources; • System of information management and retrieval.

14. Doctoral Education in Pakistan • Doctoral education has been neglected over the last 60 years • Less than 50 PhDs are qualified every year from 22 public universities (Hussain, 1997)

15. Need for AKU PhD Programs • Contribute to the research output in Pakistan and the region; • Open up and develop novel fields of inquiry and synthesis not present previously; • Develop the next generation of researchers and educators.

16. Aim of AKU-IED PhD Program The program is designed to graduate high quality researchers in education who have multiple competencies and will be leaders in their fields.

17. This aim is achieved by: • Providing rigorous course work and exposure to cutting edge research; • Developing analytical and synthesis skills derived from designing and completing a dissertation; • Nurturing the ability to meet the research needs of developing countries; • Providing a scholarly environment.

18. Overall Structure of the AKU-IED PhD Program Year 1 and Year 2 Year 3 and Year 4 1.Course Work 2.Internship 3.Proposal Writing and Defense • Data Collection • Writing Thesis & Defense 4 Week Pre-session Coursework Entry Point

19. Successes • It is a strong & rigorous program; • Admitted 14 students in 3 cohorts; • Supervision committee include scholars of international repute; • Two have graduated; • Both have gone back to their workplace in school systems;

20. Challenges • Academic Sustainability; • Financial Sustainability; • Under-Prepared Students; • Tightly packed program • Lack of Community.

21. Nation Building & Local Knowledge Systems The newly industrialized nations must develop their own scientific systems and academic institutions. They cannot, in the long run, rely on others to produce all the research that is needed for emerging technologically based industries. Altbach, 1992

22. Fitting into the Larger System- Nationally and Internationally • Making links with international universities; • Collaborate with national institutions; • Linking with and influencing HEC policies and procedures.

23. Raising Epistemological Issues The doctoral program is helping to raise questions such as: • What counts as knowledge? • Whose knowledge counts?

24. Raising Quality Assurance Issues • Will quality assurance processes allow the North to direct knowledge generation process? • Will this stifle the development of new and local ways of knowing?

25. Thank you