Whats up with foreign degrees?

Whilst doing the Bar at Law from Lincoln’s Inn it always struck me and other fellow Pakistanis as peculiar to see that the Pakistani’s enrolled in the course were above 30 in number and there was only one Indian student. I rationalized this fact by assuming that Pakistan as yet does not offer any degree equal to the Bar at Law and perhaps India has developed such courses indigenously. However this assumption couldn’t hold true for long when a similar pattern was noticed in the undergraduate degrees in law. Pakistan does indeed offer undergraduate law degrees and I daresay some are extremely competitive.

We got the answer to the question when the process of looking for jobs in Pakistan started. Every job opening circled red on a newspaper stated requirements to the effect of ‘foreign degrees will be preferred’. This reprehensible trend can be found even in job openings of the public sector and is a classic example of the continuing colonial impact on our society. Why if two students having studied the same degree would a foreign qualified be given preference? The Pakistani student who would have greater knowledge and experience of local language, society and culture is instead penalized publicly.

It is the function of law to afford equal protection to the citizens of a country. The constitution of Pakistan under Article 25 guarantees equality to all its citizens and entitles all its citizens equal protection before the law. It was decided in the case of Sherwani vs Pakistan by the Supreme Court under this article, that reasonable classifications of people may be made but only when there is a reasonable basis and a reasonable distinction. It was further added that such classification must be supported by the objective that can be achieved by enacting such classifications.

All policies made in Pakistan must conform to the basic principles enshrined in the constitution under the Principles of Policy. Article 37(f) of the Principles of Policy affirms that it is the duty of the state “to enable people of different areas through education, training…..to participate fully in all forms of national activity including employment in the service of Pakistan”. When this article is read with Article 25 it becomes obvious that the state allowing preference of foreign graduates is not only unreasonable but even unconstitutional and a flagrant violation of the law which is promoting social injustice. If anything the law states that the Pakistani qualified must be given preference.

We have many examples of laws within the country that promote the resources of the country. For instance the Public Procurement Rules state that where ever available the items in a tender should be brought from within Pakistan. Similarly in the much hyped Mcdonald’s case in the capital it was decided by the courts that during the bidding of the land in F-9 park foreign food chains were given preference and local companies were excluded which was held to be illegal. Such laws and decisions reflect the mindset of the judiciary and the executive.

The Indian constitution guarantees its citizens equality and equal protection before the law under articles 14, 15 and 16 of their constitution. It is pertinent to mention that even though the Indian constitution unlike the Pakistani constitution omits to give its citizens the right to be dealt according to the law, the efficacy of the Indian laws is far more than the Pakistani laws and the courts have given bold judgments to enable greater social justice.

By allowing such unreasonable classifications Pakistan has suffered two indirect losses apart from the direct effect of injustice within society. The first loss has been the brain drain as many of our bright minds leave the country in the quest of ‘foreign qualifications’ and many end up staying abroad after getting better job offers. The second and more subtle loss has been to the education sector of Pakistan. Since those who can afford or otherwise gain access to foreign qualifications leave the country the demand for quality education, the supply of quality educators and pressure on the government to cater to the educational needs of the people is reduced. Presently the education budget is fringing upon barely 2% of the GDP. UK, a favorite for Pakistanis to acquire a ‘foreign qualification’ slashed its education budget by 40% due to the recent recession and yet its education budget is more than 11% of the GDP. By forcing our students to go abroad we are losing not only on our foreign exchange but also on our will to improve our socio-economic conditions.      

The Section 10 of the Higher Education Commission Ordinance 2002 envisages that the government is to formulate policies, guiding principles and priorities for higher education institutions for promoting the socio-economic development of the country.

It is imperative for the government to start giving preference to its Pakistani qualified students to reverse this vicious cycle and to free ourselves from the shackles of mental enslavement of nations abroad. It is not only patriotic but also national duty to promote Pakistani institutions and stand up for national rights. The law is in place but effectiveness is dependent on the mutual will of the people and their determination to implement it.