Why the Army has Failed Our Institutions,
Generals?
Dr
Riaz Ahmed
Military
rule in civilian affairs usually results in instability that sometimes
leads to strife. The basic problem with military interventions is
their forceful nature and the total content of imposing will of
few over that of the many. In Pakistan the military dominates all
spheres of life.
In
the public sector the military is there in Wapda, Ports, Airways,
Rails, Transport, Banks, industry, and many other places. However
in educational institutions the role of military has remained limited.
Varsities are that exception. Karachi University is different in
that respect. Here the Rangers are posted for the last 13 years
since the killings of four students in cold blood. However the last
eight months or so have seen massive disruption at this campus.
September
7 was a horrific day for Karachi University. Teachers, students
and staff were brutally beaten by Rangers for protesting against
the administration’s policies. I was there at the scene and
was myself surprised to see the massive anger, the ferocious repression
and the stunning resilience of the protestors. The varsity is virtually
closed and even after a week the Governor Sindh, who is the Chancellor
of the largest university of the country, has not taken steps that
could satisfy the agitators. Almost all are baffled by the shear
anger of students and the resulting injuries.
Rangers
are one part of the problem. The real problem lies with the system
of nominating VCs from the Governor’s House and the subsequent
interference by the appointing authority. The staff in the Chancellor’s
office is entirely out of touch with academic environment. The Principal
Secretary is a Brigadier who failed in studies at varsity and went
to the army. His assistant is a Major who opted for the civil service.
The Deputy Registrar, Registrar, VC, PA to PS to Chancellor, PS
to Chancellor, and even the Chancellor are nominated! The first
three are blamed by the teachers for the strife at the campus. All
are not accountable to any democratic body and hence are free to
do what they please until the situation explodes. Then they start
to take cosmetic and short-term measures without deviating from
World Bank policies. This has been a norm across the country and
throughout the years.
Thus
when the Sept 7 events occurred, instead of taking measures to address
the problem the Brigadier has gone ahead with postponing the problem.
The steps taken by him appear to give an impression that the authorities
have failed to comprehend the nature of the problem, which in fact,
as this article concludes, is compounded due to their involvement.
The crisis at KU has brought to fore the fundamental problem of
governance at our varsities and the supervising authority, that
is the Chancellor.
On
Sept 8 the VC blamed the Rangers while the Rangers distanced themselves
from the VC. The Chancellor’s office took a neutral position
and hence has come in a position to dictate changes. The Chancellor
appoints the Vice Chancellor of varsities to ensure that teaching
and research continues in free environment. When a VC fails to maintain
a free environment the entire purpose of the varsity fails. However
the varsity administrators usually think that they can continue
with suppression and nobody would resist.
The
Chancellors office should have taken notice of the maladministration.
But instead it encouraged the present VC and his staff for their
actions. As late as Sept 3 the Chancellor wrote a letter appreciating
the VC. The Principal Secretary to Chancellor even wrote a letter
to all varsity VCs asking them to take disciplinary actions against
elected representatives of teachers who walk out of meetings of
the statutory bodies! He asked so on the request of a link between
him and the VC office, a poet of repute who is a nominated member
of varsity Syndicate, and faced with opposition has openly vowed
to ‘crush the KUTS’. When complaints were made the VC
refused to meet elected reps since July. Neither any letters of
the KUTS asking the Chancellor to give audience were ever acknowledged
or replied.
The
role of the Chancellor’s office in the entire episode may
in the end prove to be the main cause. The Chancellor’s office
is supposed to ensure that the varsity is run fluently and the complaints
against the administration are taken seriously. However the Chancellor’s
office is known for its interference in varsity matters. These days
it takes pride in ensuring that staff comes to varsity at 8:30 in
the morning – that is efficiency – and ‘Ghost
Employees’ are being hounded by the VCs – that is good
governance. But ignorance from the impact of such policies can lead
to disasters and Sept 7 proved to be one.
At
the moment the Sindh Governor is busy electioneering. However he
is rarely seen as an effective Chancellor. The actions taken and
the pronouncements made by the PS Brigadier suggest that the military
has not allowed the civilian Governor to interfere in matters of
its interest. Thus on Sept 13, six days after the tragic incident
at KU, the Governor House announced that the Brigadier has met the
Director of Rangers and discussed the incident at Karachi University.
The two reached the conclusion that corrective measures have been
taken and now there is no cause of ‘agitation at the campus’.
It goes on to prompt the Governor not to take the teachers seriously
and suggests a meeting of the protesters with him, this despite
the conclusion of the Brigadier that corrective measures have already
been taken. Now the measures demanded by the protestors have not
been addressed. They have been assembling daily at the campus in
hundreds despite the varsity being closed and call for removal of
VC and his administration. The Brigadier instead caused to make
two transfers and one promise of reinstatement, that is it.
Faced
with a disaster the authorities are supposed to take stock of the
situation and make fundamental changes in the varsity governance.
And the government is implementing one such set of polices named
the Task Force Recommendations on Higher Education (TFRHE). But
these are tailored to commercialise the education and hence calls
for even more ‘good governance and efficiency’!
Ironically
the TFRHE calls for even more nominations. If implemented the tiny
elected posts in the statutory bodies will be eliminated. It is
clear that the termination of an elected representation has led
to the Sept 7 explosion while even today nominated people run the
administration. As the Recommendations suggest and when elected
representation is removed, fees is increased five times, teacher
and staff are put on contract, departments are closed then what
sort of agitation do we expect? It’s anybody’s guess!
The
government is following the policies of good governance and efficiency
as asked by the World Bank even before the TFRHE is implemented.
The World Bank knows that men in boots are the best bet if they
are to be implemented. And like the present system the new system
offers even lesser accountability of those making decisions. Like
the World Bank the entire administration of Pakistan is either self-appointed
or nominated by a nominee. There is no democracy in our institutions
and hence the authorities are oblivious of the problems by the ruled.
It is time the military learn its lesson: go back to barracks, and
leave the civil society to be run by civilians in a real democratic
manner.
The
writer is a Professor at the Department of Applied Chemistry, University
of Karachi, Karachi
Email: riaz_ahmed@hotmail.com
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