New Phd policy

Editorial Published January 23rd, 2021

EARLIER in the week, the HEC chairman(‫ )صدر۔ مجلس‬announced several
changes for undergraduate( ‫کا ِلج یا یونیورسٹی کا ایسا طالَب ِعلم ِجس نے اپنی پہلی ڈِگری‬
‫ )حاصَل نہ کی ہو‬and PhD degrees in the country. Under the new policies, the two-
year BA/BSc and MA/MSc programmes would stop being optional and be
phased out, while a four-year BS programme would be offered in their
stead(‫)جگہ۔ عوض۔ بدل۔ مقام۔‬. The more significant(‫ )رہنما۔ معنی خیز‬policy change,
however, affects the admission criteria(‫ ) جانچ کا معیار ۔ جانچ کا اصول‬of the PhD
programmes offered in the country. The minimum requirement(‫ )ضرورت‬for
years of study for admission to a PhD programme has been reduced( ‫کم کرنا۔ قلیل‬
‫ ) کرنا۔‬from 18 to 16. Through this, the requirement for obtaining an MPhil
degree to pursue(‫ )ڈھونڈنا۔ تالش کرنا۔‬a doctorate degree has also been waived(
‫دعوی چھوڑنا۔‬
ٰ ); students can now apply for a PhD programme directly after
completing a four-year BS degree. However, students who obtain admission to
a PhD programme after completing their BS degree will have to put in more
credit ( ‫ )مانتا۔ بات۔ اعتبار‬hours of work as compared to those holding( ‫پکڑنا۔ گرفت‬
‫ )کرنا‬an MPhil degree.

Not everyone has welcomed these changes which have drawn criticism( ‫نکتہ‬
‫ )چینی۔‬from teachers’ and lecturers’ associations(‫)جوڑ ۔ مالپ‬. The Federation of
All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association has voiced its concerns(
‫) تعلق رکھنا‬, pointing out that the new policies would reduce the quality( ‫خاصیت۔‬
‫ )سیرت۔‬of research, which an MPhil degree focuses on, and also imperil
students’ prospects(‫ )امکان ۔‬of admission to PhD programmes in foreign
universities where a Bachelor’s degree from Pakistani educational institutes is
often not accepted. What has also been underscored is the failure of the
government to take the viewpoint of academic circles into consideration( ‫سوچ ۔‬
‫)بچار‬. It is an open secret that the existing higher education and research
culture in the country is nowhere near where it should be. According to the
HEC chairman, the new changes have been introduced to address the
disparity(‫ )اختالف‬between the country’s higher education system and industry
where an average graduate has few marketable(‫)قابل فروخت۔ بکنے کے الئق‬
skills(‫)گن۔‬. However, for any new policy to work, a much larger debate( ‫تکرار‬
‫ ) کرنا۔‬is needed on the issue, along with efforts to address the many deep-
rooted structural problems of higher education in the country.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2021

Power price hike
Editorial Published January 23rd, 2021
ALREADY struggling(‫ )محنت۔ مشقت۔‬to cope with the impact(‫ )اثرات‬of the Covid-
19 pandemic and rising food prices, consumers(‫ )صارفین۔‬received yet another
rude(‫ )بے رحمی‬shock(‫ )صدمہ‬when the government increased the unified base
power tariff of distribution companies by a whopping 15pc. Even
though(‫ )اگرچہ۔‬the government had been dropping( ‫ )ٹپکنا۔ رسنا۔‬hints about
hiking the tariff ever since it resumed( ‫ )ٹپکنا۔ رسنا۔‬talks with the IMF for the
revival(‫ )اعادہ۔ سرسبزی‬of the suspended $6bn loan deal, low-middle-income
consumers(‫ )صارف‬have reeled from the announcement(‫)اعالن‬. Another
electricity tariff increase is expected(‫ ) متوقع۔‬in April. The across-the-board
electricity price hike of Rs1.95 per unit, which is estimated(‫ )جانچنا۔‬to put an
additional burden(‫ )بوجھ‬of Rs200bn on consumers, will likely help the
government pay the growing compulsory(‫ ) اِستَحصالی ۔ الزمی ۔ جبری‬capacity
payments — the fixed costs of the power producers — and is expected to slow
down the circular debt(‫)قرضہ‬.

However, rather than owning(‫ )مالک ہونا‬the decision, the ruling PTI has put the
entire blame(‫ )الزام لگانا ۔ قصوروار ٹھیرانا‬for the tariff increase on the previous
PML-N administration(‫) ۔ انتظام‬. Indeed, the latter is largely responsible for
ordering excessive and expensive new generation on the basis of an
exaggerated(‫ )حد سے زیادہ کہنا۔‬forecast regarding electricity consumption(‫)خرچ ۔‬
and without cleaning up the mess in the power sector(‫)قطع دائرہ‬. But that
doesn’t absolve the PTI administration of its own failure(‫ )ناکامی‬to fix the
power sector in the last two and a half years. Its predecessor may have left
‘landmines’ for it as PTI ministers claim. But what stopped it from clearing
those landmines instead of blowing(‫ )اُڑانا ۔ اُڑا دینا ۔ اُڑا لے جانا‬them up in the face
of the people? The government owes an explanation to consumers who have
been asked to foot the bill for its own poor performance.

The decision to increase electricity rates is yet another reminder that the
crumbling(‫ )۔ ٹکڑے ٹکڑے کرنا‬power sector needs urgent reforms ( ‫۔ ٹکڑے ٹکڑے‬
‫ —)کرنا‬not the kind of reforms focused on passing on the costs of the power
sector’s inefficiencies(‫ )نااہل ۔ نااہلیت ۔ ناقابلیت‬to consumers, but those that will aim
at reducing T&D losses, increasing recovery of bills, and curbing( ‫دبانے کی‬
‫ )زنجیر‬power theft through improved governance. Sadly, the few gains made
under the previous government in slashing system losses and improving bill
recovery have been reversed in the last two years. The losses have increased
by about 1.5pc and bill recovery has reduced by 5pc. Little wonder then that
the circular debt(‫ )قرض‬has ballooned to Rs2.3tr (and is anticipated to grow to
Rs2.8tr by the end of this fiscal) from Rs1.1tr when the PTI took over. The
government says it is implementing (‫)مکمل کرنا‬a raft(‫ )ایک بیڑے‬of measures to
control compulsory capacity payments to power producers. These include
negotiation( ‫ )معاملہ۔‬with the sponsors of upcoming generation projects of
10,000 MW for staggering their timelines to provide “breathing space for
consumption and payments”, changes in the terms of existing power-purchase
agreements with producers, and so on. These are steps in the right direction.
But they aren’t enough and need to be supported by improvements in power-
sector governance to reduce the pressure of electricity tariffs( ‫جہازی مال کے‬
‫محصول کی فہرست۔ نرخ نامہ‬
).

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2021

Israeli land grab

Editorial Published January 23rd, 2021

WITH the chapter now closed on the Trump presidency(‫)صدرنشینی‬, the eyes of
many in the international community (‫—)عالقے کی پوری آبادی یا تمام لوگ‬
particularly the Palestinians (‫ )فلسطینیوں‬and all those who wish to see a just
settlement(‫ )ٹھیراؤ۔ قیام۔‬for them — will be on Washington to see if Joe Biden
can bring a semblance of neutrality( ‫ )بے غرضی۔‬to the Arab-Israeli dispute( ‫بحث‬
‫)کرنا۔‬.

The Trump era(‫ )دور‬was of course one where Israel was given royal (‫)شاہی‬
treatment by America, while the Palestinians were treated with disdain( ‫گھن‬
‫)کھانا‬. The so-called deal of the century, a failed Trumpian solution to the
dispute, was roundly rejected by the Palestinians as it sought (‫)تالش کرنا۔ ڈھونڈنا۔‬
to reward Israel for its decades of land grabbing (‫ )پکڑنا۔ لپکنا‬and
violence(‫)زبردستی۔‬, and limit the Arabs to ‘reservations(‫ ’)حراست۔ قید۔ حواالت‬on
their ancestral land. However, with Mr Biden in the driving seat, there may
be a change in tone(‫)ہم آہنگ ہونا‬, if not substance, from Washington.
Israel, in the meantime(‫اس عرصے‬،(, seems committed to illegally( ‫غیر قانونی طور‬
‫ )پر‬devouring(‫ )ضائع کرنا‬more and more Arab land and creating ‘facts on the
ground’. As reported by Israeli NGO Peace Now, Tel Aviv has issued tenders
for 2,500 settler homes in the occupied territories(‫)عالقہ یا صوبہ‬, a move that is
considered illegal under international law. The development is apparently( ‫جو‬
‫ )سامنے ہو‬aimed ( ‫) ارادہ‬at the Israeli election, due in March, as Benjamin
Netanyahu seeks(‫ )تالش کرنا۔‬to cling(‫ ) لگا رہنا‬to power and fend off challenges to
the premiership(‫عظمی‬
ٰ ‫ )صدارت‬from right-wing challengers by appeasing hard-
line voters.

While on the record Mr Biden has condemned(‫ ) مجرم ٹھہرانا‬Israeli settlements,

members of his administration have said there is no plan to reverse Donald
Trump’s move to recognise the disputed(‫ )لڑنا۔ بحث کرنا‬city of Jerusalem as
Israel’s capital. It would be naive to hope for a complete turnaround in US
policy in favour of the Palestinians as Mr Biden as well as his vice president
are committed Israel supporters, as are most members of the American
political establishment. However, it is hoped that the new US leader will at
least temper(‫ )مالئم کرنا۔‬some of the more overtly pro-Israel policies of his
predecessor( ‫)اگال۔‬. Specifically, the expansion of illegal(‫ )ناجائز‬settlements must
end, while Israel’s brutal() treatment of Palestinians, particularly its frequent
savage (‫)جنگلی۔‬forays(‫ )لڑنا۔ بحث کرنا‬into Gaza, cannot continue.

The two-state solution is indeed on life support, thanks largely to Israeli

impunity( ‫ )معافی سزا۔‬and America’s indulgence(‫ )نفس پرستی۔ عادت۔‬of its favourite
Middle Eastern client. Yet if the peace process is to be revived,( ‫مری ہوئی دھات کا‬
‫ )جینا یا زندہ ہونا۔‬then the Palestinians must get a fair deal which promises them a
viable(‫ )زندہ رہنے کے قابل۔‬state safe from the predatory(‫)لوٹنے کا۔ تاراجی۔ لٹیرا۔‬
attacks of Israel. If this formula is ignored, more turbulence (‫ )ہنگامہ۔ فساد۔‬is in
store for the region.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2021