An Agenda for Research for Pakistani Universities
Our research system is producing lots of research papers for journals I am told. But it does not appear to be addressing the challenges that the country is facing. To matter, our research system must address vital issues. I am listing some here for the sake of opening a discussion. Perhaps you should join me in thinking debating such a list.
1. Energy crisis has been prolonged for 11 years now with huge financial and production losses. Estimates suggest that Pakistan may have lost as much as 4% of GDP every year over this period. The government is struggling with the causes of the problem which include supply and demand side issues, organizational problems and pricing and subsidy problems. There is a huge amount of research here that may not go into impact factor journals but would be extremely very valuable to society, saving us billions of dollars. Such research would involve many discipline, engineering, economics, sociology, management, urban and transport development, environmental studies and perhaps more.
2. Similarly, Pakistan is in the middle of a water crisis with shortages developing and predicted to intensify over the coming years. Once again this would require a major effort across universities and to look at the systemic issues at many levels, irrigation, household and industrial use, storage, international relations (especially the Indus Water Treaty), pricing, lifestyle and many other issues. To be relevant, the research system must be studying this issue even if foreign journals are not so interested in Pakistan’s problem.
3. Pakistan continues to underperform on international indicators measuring competitiveness,Ease of Doing Businessas well as Governance. Corruption and governance have even become big election issues. Once again, a concerted system research effort across networks could provide insights into laws, structures, norms, cultural and skill and education deficits that underlie this poor performance.
4. Infrastructure development is beset with suspicion, delays and cost overruns. Projects are stretched across the country to meet local, regional and national needs. The geographical spread of universities could be an important partner in identifying infrastructure needs, design as well as monitoring and evaluation. Networks across universities could be an important complement to the planning process of the country.
5. Democracy, governance and local governments have all been in the news and have become election issues. These are issues on which society needs serious debate and information and ideas. Political parties and media are looking for suggestion and solutions and find no real informed opinion to draw on. Here some important issues on which researchers have been silent are:
5.1. How do we modernize our colonial system with a colonial bureaucracy, colonial judiciary, colonial army, colonial legal system, colonial cities with cantonments, as well as a colonial culture? If we want to modernize and develop our economy and society can we run on an old system and old institutions? We have never confronted this issue intellectually.
5.2. Our constitution too was mostly framed by the colonials given that it is largely the Government of India Act of 1935. Democracy can’t take root as dynasties usurped in every election. Should this not be a subject of research? Much has been researched and learnt about elections, constitutions and democratic systems. Our universities should be talking of these issues.
5.3. Local government is an essential part of public service provision and providing people with a participatory governance framework. Pakistan has struggled with this issue for 70 years and yet this subject has never been explored by universities.
6. The roots of violence and terror in our society. This will require developing proper research and debate in religion as well as an understanding of society, social mobility and our governance. This research and dialog could help in developing better policy and responses to our security issues.
These are only a few of many themes on which the research system should be continuously be developing debates at many levels from the arcane to the popular. I am sure if we start to think about it we should all be able to come up with many mo0re thematic areas of research. If our research system is not addressing our key challenges, it is a luxury that is probably not worth having.
