Moalims

One of the best areas of investment for Pakistan is higher education .The industrialised countries of Europe and Japan are currently undergoing a negative population growth due to low birth rates. During the next several years, Japan will not have enough workforce to run its own industries. The European Union is already planning to introduce a Blue Card immigration visa programme for young skilled labour from developing countries to operate its industries. Pakistan, with its population of 180 million, can take the advantage of this opportunity to export its skilled human capital to the industrialised countries, which will not only be beneficial for individuals, but will also bring large capital and economic boom to Pakistan by many of the workers investing in businesses back at home and sending funds to their families.
Only four percent of the age group 17-23 years receives college or university education in Pakistan, compared to over 50 percent in the developed countries. The number of students receiving a Bachelor’s degree and those enrolled in PhD almost doubled from 2001 to 2004, indicating that there is an increasing interest in attaining higher education. In spite of the enrolment rates in college and university each year, there is a huge gap to be filled to achieve the 20 percent threshold that has been recognised as the point where measureable financial returns to the country from its graduates are visible.
It is therefore crucial to improve the quality of services offered in public and private institutions in Pakistan to provide a fairly accessible higher education that will increase the opportunity for social and economic mobility of the poorest to become better off. This alone is a direct benefit to society at large. Public-private partnership is very infrequent and should be emphasised to better serve the increasing demand for education.

AROUSA KHAN
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