IIUI: institutional character and a case for reforms-Part I

IIUI: institutional character and a case for reforms-Part I

I have yet to read a comprehensive analysis about the budgetary allocation for higher education in the Federal Budget 2008-09 but there are indications that almost all public sectors universities are now facing some sort of music as Ministry of Finance has failed to provide adequate funds to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for existing quarter. We have also read about the concerns which Dr. Ata ur Rehman has raised last week addressing an education expo in Islamabad about the rapidly squeezing financial space and its implications for higher education institutions. Last week, we had shared a news item on this blog about a joint statement of IIUI staff associations demanding the restoration of funds from the Ministry of Finance. What does it mean for higher education sector in general and for IIUI in particular? Are we heading towards a so called education sector’s recession in the wake of the worst economic crisis which people are already facing in Pakistan? If the answer is affirmative then what IIUI can do to adjust itself in difficult times ahead?

Obviously we don’t have any sort of simple solutions here. In fact if someone tries to suggest few, that would be most probably simplistic! So let the job be undertaken by those who are presumably competent for this. To us it is important for another reason too i.e. they are after all hired for this job and a leadership role in a university such as IIUI should no more be taken as a symbolic, figurative and part-time responsibility. The modern day university administration is sensitive, competitive and tough job which essentially requires a thorough professional attitude and sector-wise good will and integrity. If you are not good in this then days have gone when state owned cow was giving milk and there was no nonsense around. Now, university leadership is increasingly getting a performance driven position and you are in neck to neck competition provided you feel like that! However if you don’t feel like that then soon you would start feeling heat underneath somewhere as no one would remain immune from the onslaught of sectoral changes.

Why to state all this here when we are talking about squeezed budgets and clutching financial allocations? The rationale is simple as mobilization of resources, placement of efficient systems and achievement of strategic objectives are well recognized terms of reference for a leadership candidates and aspirants. They have to deliver or divorce: a clear-cut choice. The third option is institutional demise as a victim of self-perpetuating and unsustainable regime which must be avoided. It is the hight time for all of us to realize this dynamics at IIUI and go for a massive transformation process: top to bottom, across the campuses, administration to faculty and attitude to body language!

We have to confess that we don’t have a uniform and standard working environment at IIUI. Institutional reforms are inevitable in a system where a few work more-out of choice or compulsion- and the most of us treat it as part time ad-hoc job. In our system virtually no consultation takes place about crucial institutional matters such as career development, trainings, curriculum design and integration, outreach and expansion, resource generation and budget management etc. Except for a certain cases, a standard communication at IIUI is one way i.e. from top to bottom with a language of adherence and observance. We clearly lack a space for dissenting views and ironically we are by definition a civil society setting. Then there are all sorts of transparency issues. Who makes the budget, how is it made, what are our typical funding sources, what is, if any, IIUI endowment’s health, what is in true sense a self finance program and how and to which extent programs are subsidized? How do we resolve equity issues when it comes to resource generation etc., how do we decide about massive (and some times crazy) expansion and above the all what do we want to achieve by the end of the day—all are open questions and presumably there should be some satisfactory answers in certain cases but given the lack of transparent reporting system and public oriented communication policy, one has to struggle with all of them. The time has come for all of us to recognize that we are a largely public funded institution and we should be answerable to our stakeholders: students, employees, donors and masses. After all this is the money which we are getting from them in one way or another but out reporting track record is very poor…..to be continued.