Student political groups, which are, in reality, the student wings of regional or mainstream political parties, plead vigorously in favor of student unions and it has been a common observation that these groups flourish when student unions are in place. There are a lot of people in our institutions who advocate student unions on the basis of their existence and functioning in many developed countries. Student unions in developed countries are entirely and strictly indigenous student bodies having absolutely no relationship with any national or regional political pressure groups. With such a composition, these unions serve the students of the specific institutions in which they operate. They have no plans, intentions, or functions that relate to national or regional politics.

Currently, the government is reported to have been in consultation with different concerned quarters regarding permitting students to revive student unions. While making this decision, the government should not disregard our past when student politics played havoc with the entire society. There have been innumerable events of students being engaged in violence, thefts, robbery, killing, and plundering but that wave dwindled when the erstwhile regime of Nawaz Sharif decided to banish this evil. Consequently, we have observed a comparatively peaceful environment during the last decade in our higher learning seats. If student unions are reorganized on the same previous pattern, that will positively destroy the academic environment which is still in its formative phase. The students and educational institutions are for education and research only and every attempt must be made to avoid any digression from this theme.

The proponents of student unions revival argue that these organizations help to create a healthy environment in our education institutions as these bodies act as platform of students’ extracurricular activities, which are imperative for intellectual and psychological development of our youth. That is true. However, we should not presume that extracurricular activities and student unions are interdependent. The best way to groom students intellectually through extracurricular activities in our colleges and universities is to establish different local societies in every institution with a stern proviso that these societies must not have any connection, functional or ideological, with any pressure group operating in the public space. Every institution must establish sports, debating, literary, dramatic, and music societies which can act as dynamic local platforms for grooming students. Our campuses have witnessed many splendid examples of such active platforms, for instance, there was a time when the literary society of the Government College, Lahore provided a wholesome environment for the literary and intellectual upbringing of the youth.

One major problem with student bodies in Pakistani universities is that many of these groups were formed on the basis of cast, ethnicity or religious factions. All such groups had their own axes to grind and often used violence again rival groups. Hence they should not be allowed to become a part of our campus life. Sometimes faculty groups also form on the basis of political, ethnic, and religious biases. These faculty groups also pollute the academic environment by provoking emotions of students for the sake of their personal or ideological gains. In the end, political, regional, racial, and sectarian student organizations should not be allowed on campus, and any group violating the sanctity of educational institutions must be dealt with severely, for the benefit of our future generations.

Editors Note: Dr. Tauseef Aized is a professor at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore and a research fellow at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of STEP.

With the advent of the industrial revolution, the traditional role of higher learning institutions has been transformed from simply educating young people to creating and disseminating knowledge to the whole society. Every higher education institution needs enormous financial resources that, in our system, are typically provided through public funding. The state demands a return on its investment beyond traditional manpower development. Thus, increasingly, universities bear the responsibility of interacting with the entire society to demonstrate positive gains. Currently, public sector higher education institutions in Pakistan get reasonable levels of state funding, but this state of affairs will not last forever. The time is approaching when these institutions will be pressed to generate their own funding beyond the usual increase of the fees charged to students. Under these demanding circumstances, the only recourse for our universities will be industrial funding, especially in the pure and applied sciences. Academia-industry collaborations, which are common in developed countries but non-existent in Pakistan, are a win-win prospect for both universities and industries. By developing workable industrial linkages, universities can not only raise money to function, but also can acquire a good deal of skill and knowledge. This is probably the best way to contribute towards society as well.

The modus operandi for establishing a university-industry liaison should be framed by universities and they should not wait for industries and other related organizations to initiate such relationships. The very first step to achieve this goal is the development of specialized skill groups inside universities. These groups must work, in their respective areas of interest, to properly understand industrial problems and propose solutions. In addition, every institution must specify its own areas of interests, for which it would strive to gain expertise and excellence because in the absence of truly credible expertise, no industrial linkage is possible. Furthermore, the higher education institutions must initiate aggressive campaigns for the development of industrial linkages. The universities must be willing to work and solve practical problems, even without any grants from industries, to gain the confidence of industrial collaborators by delivering good results. This is the key to successful industrial liaisons.

Almost every university in Pakistan requires its undergraduate and graduate students to carry out a final term project. In the majority of cases, these projects are meaningless, because students (at times with the aid of faculty), copy or repeat something that has already been done. This practice must be stopped and the concept and scope of the projects must be inline with the needs of the society. If universities are successful in revitalizing these project assignments, it would be a great step towards adding value to the society.

The universities should develop and conduct industry-related short and medium-term courses to attract industrial staff. These courses can generate money and form a good platform for initiating long term collaborations. The selection of these courses should be dictated by the requirements of industry near the academic institution. For instance, an institution based in Gujranwala should consider organizing short course focused on the metal industry as there is a lot of related industrial activity there. Another good choice is organizing short computer-literacy courses, because computer-literacy is now a pre-requisite for many jobs.

The universities must also consider establishing spin-off organizations within the premises of the universities. These organizations can develop prototype products to market their expertise. The technical expertise and project management skills required to conduct these projects can be developed either locally or can be acquired through foreign linkages. The concept of science and technology parks has matured in the developed world and the time has come when we should plan and work rigorously for developing such facilities.

In the end, industrial sector must also appreciate the benefits of university liaisons. Every industry faces technical and managerial problems which can be solved through interaction with higher education and research institutions. Industries should neither consider this interaction a waste of time and resources nor an act of ‘charity’. Academia-industry interactions are equally beneficial to both sides as they can result in higher productivity and improved quality of industrial products and services.