Nur Jehan’s suffering
FOR years, she was a star attraction for children visiting the Karachi Zoo who delighted in taking rides on her back. But Nur Jehan’s existence has been a pitiful one, and particularly so in recent years when the 17-year-old African elephant has been afflicted by one ailment after another. For two months, she has been in obvious pain due to severe swelling of her joints. Zoo officials have played down her condition, with one saying it is “very normal in captive animals”. Judging from recent images of the poor animal’s suffering, it is clear that something needs to be done urgently. KMC, which runs the zoo, has at last given permission to foreign vets from Four Paws International — an animal rights group — to come and treat Nur Jehan, who is one of two elephants at the facility. In 2021, a Four Paws team had come to Karachi and inspected all four elephants in the metropolis — two of which are at the Safari Park. It had recommended that the elephants at the zoo also be moved to the other site, as at their present location they were in distress from the constant traffic noise.
To keep elephants in captivity is an act of extreme cruelty, something that is being recognised the world over. Scientific evidence proves these magnificent creatures are among the most intelligent and social animals. Elephants comfort each other when in distress, and are known to be “co-operative problem solvers”. They even mourn their dead in what appears to be ritualistic behaviour. Now consider the existence of Nur Jehan, restricted in a barren enclosure entirely unsuitable for her species-specific needs. She and Madhubala, the other elephant at the zoo, must be moved to Safari Park as soon as possible so they can be reunited with others of their kind. There they must have avenues for enrichment such a swimming facility; and staff must be trained with an elephant protected contact wall.
Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2023
Higher learning
UNIVERSITIES are like incubators where new, bright ideas are born, and where young minds pursue journeys of intellectual discovery. Sadly, in Pakistan, as with the rest of the education sector, seats of higher learning are not immune to multiple crises, affecting output. As reported recently, only 12 Pakistani varsities — out of over 100 — made it to the QS world subject rankings.
Commenting on the rankings, the Higher Education Commission chairman told this paper that only those varsities appeared on the list that shared their data with the firm, while acknowledging that there was a need to improve the quality of public-sector universities.
The global ranking of universities by various firms is, of course, not free from controversy, as some academics have questioned the transparency of the process, but there can be little doubt that in the current scenario, universities in Pakistan — with a few honourable exceptions — are hardly delivering world-class graduates.
Since at least the Musharraf era the focus seems to have been on quantity rather than quality. The late general revamped the HEC and provided it with ample funds, but in the decades since, we have yet to see any great flowering of intellectual talent in our varsities. Both the public and private sectors have their own issues.
Most public universities, which are the only option for the vast majority of students, are run in a bureaucratic manner, and suffer from intense internal politics. There are also issues of intellectual honesty, with some professors producing papers at supersonic speed, apparently only to secure promotions.
Moreover, the blight of plagiarism is found aplenty in our varsities. In the private sector, while it is a fact that some of our best institutions are privately run, most varsities focus on profits, and mass produce graduates of little value.
Sadly, some institutions are little more than degree mills, and their graduates add little of substance to the job market. Unless these issues are adequately addressed, the future of Pakistani higher education will continue to look dismal, and we will keep losing our best minds to greener pastures.
No doubt the public sector faces a massive funding crunch, which needs to be tackled. But apart from writing cheques, more effort is required to improve the quality of teaching at our universities, and to foster a climate of academic freedom and prioritise the pursuit of knowledge.
Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2023
Crop concerns
AFTER last year’s heatwave that caused wheat grains to shrink significantly, the ongoing wet spell in Punjab and elsewhere is to be welcomed. It will prove salutary for the upcoming wheat harvest, especially in the rain-fed regions. However, farmers in some districts are likely to suffer unexpected losses due to strong winds and hail that have accompanied the heavy rains over the last one week. According to the agriculture department, hailstorm damage to the wheat crop remains confined to 123,000 acres out of 16.041m acres under the staple crop in the province. They are hopeful that the present wet spell will help the grains grow in size and make up for the previous output loss. Nevertheless, farmers, especially those with small holdings, whose fields have been flattened by the hail and winds, must brace themselves for significant financial losses. Many may not be left with enough to buy inputs for the summer crop, and will need government support.
Over the years, the farm sector has proved to be a major factor responsible for Pakistan’s falling economic growth. Its poor performance has retarded industrial growth, affected textile exports and put pressure on the fragile current account. In the last 15 years, agriculture’s real annual growth has been restricted to 2.2pc-2.6pc a year, which is dismal when compared to the expansion in the services and industrial sectors. This is so in spite of the fact that almost two out of three Pakistanis are somehow linked to and depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
Even within the agriculture sector, according to a report by the Pakistan Agriculture Coalition, it is the crops — mainly wheat, maize, cotton, sugarcane and rice — that are holding back its growth. The production of major crops has grown by just 1.1pc for nearly two decades, despite consuming most of the country’s agricultural assets: land, water, labour, etc. There are multiple reasons that can be cited for the decline of crops, including lack of investment, low mechanisation, poor seed technology and varieties, obsolete and bad government policies affecting farmers’ choices, and so on. The impact of climate change in the form of droughts, floods and erratic weather patterns has accelerated this slide in the last one decade or so, and Pakistan remains among the top 10 countries most vulnerable to global warming. The stagnation in farming means that the trade balance will keep worsening while food insecurity and poverty will continue to surge unless the trend is reversed. That will require a change in our decades-old policies, increased use of technology and massive private investment in the value chain. The agriculture sector offers enormous business opportunities to investors. But their participation will remain limited unless the government decides to pull itself out of the supply chain and stops interfering in the market.
Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2023