Understanding External Policy Influences in Pakistani Higher Education
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Understanding External Policy Influences in Pakistani Higher Education by Aamir Taiyeb A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education (LHAE) Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) University of Toronto © Copyright by Aamir Taiyeb 2019 Understanding External Policy Influences in Pakistani Higher Education Aamir Taiyeb Doctor of Philosophy Leadership, Higher and Adult Education University of Toronto 2019 Abstract Pakistan, the sixth most populous nation in the world, faces complex and multifaceted challenges as it seeks to achieve middle-income country status in the 21st century. To achieve this objective, Pakistan must address the quality, access and governance issues facing its higher education (HE) sector. With barely 1 in 10 Pakistanis being able to access tertiary-level studies, external agencies have stepped in to assist the Pakistani HE sector meets its development needs. Despite several decades of involvement, and hundreds of millions of dollars spent by international donors and aid agencies, little has been achieved. This dissertation examines the nature and extent of participation by international actors in Pakistan’s HE sector. The study explores the underlying dynamics between the external and the internal in the context of the sector, and seeks to identify points of convergence and divergence in terms of a preferred future. The central research question motivating the study is: How have external actors influenced Pakistan’s HE system, and in particular, its governance? To answer this question, 43 qualitative research interviews were conducted over 5 months in 3 large urban centres in Pakistan (Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad) with senior governors active in the Pakistani HE sector including representatives of Pakistani government agencies, international organizations and HE institutional leaders. The data reveals the extent of external influences in the system by type (e.g., foreign aid, policy borrowing), and by actor (e.g., the World Bank, USAID, British Council). The findings suggest that Pakistan’s HE sector is affected by external policy influences in a multitude of ways, and that endogenous and exogenous actors do not always see eye-to-eye, resulting in a mismatch of policy prescriptions at times. Above all, the findings suggest that the ii lack of an indigenous policy community has resulted in a sector that is outward-facing and looking for solutions from without, rather than from within, thereby resulting in an externally-oriented path dependency. Such external policy pressures will likely continue to exercise an out-sized influence on the Pakistani higher education sector unless tools for effective self-governance and self-regulation are developed. iii Dedication This work is dedicated to those Pakistani youth unable to meet their full potential due to nothing more than the socio-economic circumstances of their birth. iv Acknowledgements Ultimately, embarking on this journey has been an incredible privilege. It has led me to discover parts of Pakistan - and myself, for that matter - that I didn’t know existed. It has been a fascinating intellectual journey and I am lucky to have been allowed the chance to undertake it at all. For that, I have many people to thank. I would like to acknowledge the incredible debt I owe to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Ruth Hayhoe. Ruth: I lucked out - big time - by having your support, guidance and, above all, encouragement over the last few years. I am also most appreciative of the advice and assistance afforded me by my thesis committee members: Dr. Glen Jones and Dr. Caroline Manion. Thank you, Glen and Carly, for all of your support during our thesis committee meetings. I also thank members of the LHAE staff, especially Ms. Karolina Szymanski and Ms. Sezen Atacan for helping me navigate the doctoral process and meet required milestones. This thesis would not have been possible without the participation of 43 individuals - many senior leaders and respected governors at Pakistani HEIs, international non-governmental organizations and various levels of government; thank you for giving of your time and for being so candid with me. I hope I have done justice to your words. I also thank members of my extended family (the Mangla/Tambawala families in Karachi, the Salim family in Lahore, and the Raza family in Rawalpindi) who welcomed me into their homes while I undertook data collection in each of those cities. I also wish to thank Mr. Muhammad Saleem Sethi for his help in opening doors for me within the international organization community in Islamabad - I am not sure I would have been able to meet my data sample needs without his timely interventions. Lastly, and most importantly, I thank my family (Ali (senior)/Zahra/Hussain/Nafisa/Zainab/Ali) for giving me the support and time I needed to undertake this journey. As the Dedication suggests, I am also only too aware of the very few Pakistanis who get the chance to go on such a journey. Mine is the story of an individual afforded the luxuries of schooling - and of time and place - that have allowed me to undertake this doctoral endeavor. This is why the Dedication hearkens to the stories of all those young Pakistanis for whom formal schooling is as distant a dream as can be. In my view, despite the best intentions of Pakistan’s leaders, and the international community, the education system of Pakistan has often failed those who needed it most. Working towards system improvement is the ultimate goal of the present work; something my thesis attempts to do by enhancing our understanding of the global and the local in the case of the governance of Pakistan’s higher education sector. Aamir Taiyeb v Table of Contents Abstract ii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents vi List of Figures viii List of Tables ix List of Acronyms x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Context 1 1.2 Rationale 6 1.3 Research Questions 7 1.4 Organization of the Thesis 8 1.5 Significance of the Study 10 1.6 Study Limitations 12 1.7 Author’s Positionality 13 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Literature Review 17 2.2 The World Bank and Pakistan's HE Sector 33 CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL FRAMES & METHODOLOGY 3.1 Theoretical Frameworks 41 3.2 Research Methods 44 3.3 A Note on Software 60 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS (PART I): GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS 4.1 Governance Arrangements 65 4.2 Levels of State Control 67 4.3 Higher Education Commission Oversight 69 4.4 Shared Governance 74 4.5 Policy Community 89 4.6 Institutional Governance Structures 96 4.7 Devolution Matters 110 4.8 Levels of Trust 118 4.9 Public and Private Sector Differences 121 vi CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS (PART II): EXTERNAL INFLUENCES 5.1 External Influences 129 5.2 Perceptions of External Influences 131 5.3 A Typology of External Influences 135 5.4 External Influences by Actor 154 5.5 Case Studies of External Influence 169 5.6 Privatization/Marketization 186 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION 6.1 Introduction 199 6.2 Governance Arrangements 200 6.3 External Influences 218 6.4 Application of Theoretical Lenses 224 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION 7.1 Conclusion 234 7.2 Policy Recommendations 253 7.3 Suggestions for Future Research 264 Appendices Appendix A: REB Certificate Appendix B: Interview Guide Appendix C: Consent Forms Appendix D: Word Cloud vii List of Figures Figure 1: The Norm Life Cycle (from Finnemore and Sikkink (1998)) Figure 2: Map of Pakistan and Data Collection Sites Figure 3: Levels of State Control - Preferences by Sectoral Participants Figure 4: Belief in HEC Model - Preferences by Sectoral Participants Figure 5: Belief in Policy Community - Preferences by Sectoral Participants Figure 6: Belief in Policy Community - Preferences by Bilateral vs. Multilateral Donors Figure 7: External INGOs involved in Pakistani HE by Weight Figure 8: The World Bank and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan Figure 9: USAID and the Teacher Education Project Figure 10: Levels of State Control viii List of Tables Table 1: Breakdown of Field Interviews in Pakistan Table 2: Foreign Aid Disbursement for Education in Pakistan (Fiscal Years 2007-2017) Table 3: Policy Niches of External Actors Table 4: Case Studies of External Influence Table 5: Divergences and Convergences - Summary Table ix Acronyms and Abbreviations ADB: Asian Development Bank CAREC: Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation CCI: Council of Common Interest FAPUASA: Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association HEC: Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (Federal authority) HED: Higher Education Department (Provincial authority) IBRD: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (part of the World Bank) IDA: International Development Association (part of the World Bank) IDB: Islamic Development Bank IGO: Intergovernmental Organization KPK: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistani Province) MUG: Modern University Governance Program NACTE: National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education ORIC: Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization PHEC: Punjab Higher Education Commission (Provincial authority) PML-N: Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (Pakistani political party) PPP: Pakistan People's Party (Pakistani political party) PTI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (Pakistani political party) QEC: Quality Enhancement Cell REB: Research Ethics Board SAARC: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SHEC: Sindh Higher Education Commission SOP: Standard Operating Protocol STEDA: Sindh Teacher Education Authority UGC: University Grants Commission UNESCO: United Nations Education, Social and Cultural Organization USAID: United States Agency for International Development VARSITY: A university with degree-granting authority VC: Vice-Chancellor WB: World Bank x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1: Context PARTICIPANT: I believe that indigenization is very important. Indigenous values have to be developed. They should be allowed to grow as they are. And I do not believe that Americanization, Britishization, can ever make a nation like Pakistan truly what it needs to be. My concern with education is that I want to see Pakistan as a nation in its own right.