Last week, Aslam Raisani, the Chief Minister of Balochistan told reporters after a provincial assembly session, “a degree is a degree whether it’s authentic or fake.”
Actually, no. No it’s not.
His statement came after the Supreme Court ordered election commissions to vet the education credentials of Pakistan’s federal and provincial politicians. According to Al Jazeera, “Up to 160 elected officials have been accused of faking their degrees in order to meet a requirement for holding office.” An Election Commission official told Reuters, “The Higher Education Commission [HEC] is verifying the degrees of all parliamentarians in line with the orders of the Supreme Court.” On Tuesday, Dawn reported that the commission is currently “pondering” over whether it’s a good idea to invoke the Pakistan Penal Code “to initiate criminal proceedings against lawmakers who are proven guilty of having fake degrees.”
Pakistani politicians tried as criminals? How novel.
But while you’re at it, HEC, maybe you should also try politicians who have defaulted on their loans, who are horribly corrupt, who profited under the National Reconciliation Ordinance, and who continue to to put their own interests above those of their constituents term after term. I’d guarantee that we’d barely have any lawmakers left.
In March, contributor Usman Zafar discussed the circumstances surrounding the resignations of politicians Jamshed Dasti (PPP) and Nazir Jutt (PML-Q), after the Supreme Court ruled that Dasti, a prominent party leader, had lied about his Islamic Studies Masters Degree. When questioned by the six-member bench, the former Chairman of the Standing Committee on Sports not only couldn’t recite the first verses of the Quran, but he even gave the incorrect answer to 4 multiplied by 2. Islamic Studies Masters Degree #FAIL.
Since the inquiry was announced, several lawmakers have already resigned from their posts, including PML-Q MPA Samina Khawar Hayat and PPP MNA Amir Yar Waran, who resigned last Thursday. As the “furore” (Dawn’s word not mine) grows, the fake degree scandal has garnered a call for mid-term elections from parties like Jamaat-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Insaf, who both boycotted the polls in February 2008. Dawn noted in its coverage, “For obvious reasons Prime Minister Gilani has said that fresh polls were not the solution to the country’s problems.”
The apparent source of the fake degree scandal stems from a law imposed by General Pervez Musharraf in 2002, which required political candidates to hold a bachelor’s degree “or its equivalent.” According to Al Jazeera, Musharraf said he imposed the law to “improve the calibre of MPs, but critics alleged the move was designed to sideline certain opponents.” The law was struck down in April 2008, though just after the February elections of that year.
In a country where the education system is lackluster at best, should we expect more from our leaders? My answer is an adamant yes. Education standards aren’t just set to create or enforce a political elite, it’s to ensure that our leaders can actually lead (though the correlation between education and leadership is definitely a worthy debate). And let’s face it: how many today can? How many have the integrity to be an example to Pakistan’s future generation? And how many have the foresight to think past their selfish aims for the greater good of the country? Not many. And while I hope this current scandal doesn’t lead to a distracting witch hunt, I do think it should raise discussion about these very questions. Because as a Pakistani, I am ashamed to call many of them my leaders.
CHUP! - Changing Up Pakistan 
here is more on the subject! when a position holder declares she doesnt want to continue education, what hope do we have?
http://e.thenews.com.pk/details.asp?id=248865
“A degree is a degree whether it’s authentic or fake”???!!!!
That is the funniest thing I’ve heard all year!! Let’s scrap our hard-earned educational accolades earned from red-brick and Ivy League institutions and just buy the damn things instead!
Whilst education isnt guaranteed to ensure effective leadership, it’s a mighty good start. Well, if it hasnt been faked that is…
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Nobody calls them leaders any way. One doesn’t relate with them. Masses would but most of them doesn’t have education on their priority list.
I can’t think of one other country that has an educational requirement for political office. I just don’t understand why this requirement was ever put in place.
Rabia,
I think you make an interesting point. Most of the critics of the 2002 law said it was to malign or ostracize political opponents. What is your opinion on that?
The fake degree scandal stems from this 2002 law, since prior to that time there were no educational requirements in place. That being said, do you then feel it was ok to lie or forge degrees in order to appease a law that shouldn’t have been in place in the first place?
I’d be really interested in your opinion! Thanks 🙂
Kalsoom,
I don’t support the degree requirement simply because it disqualifies too much of the population. I mean I simply don’t see how it’s justified to disqualify like 97% of Pakistan’s population from holding elected office.
That being said, you’re right, it’s not ok to lie or forge degrees. But I do think that what we’re seeing is a natural consequence of imposing that requirement on Pakistan’s political system which is why it doesn’t make me as angry as I see a lot of people getting. btw I can see why my POV would be really annoying to people looking at the issue from the perspective of what this issue says about the ethics of our political class.
But I see your point too (and don’t find it annoying) – many of us are guilty of seeing the political class not for it is but what it should be.
The term “leader” is always used loosely because very few of our current politicians actually have the ability to lead. I don’t necessarily know how that correlates to education levels, but I do think that we should want to elect lawmakers who are equipped to make decisions for this country.
That being said, the degree requirement was overturned in 2008, so while the inquiry may purge a significant number of leaders, it doesn’t really address any of these issues in the long-term.
I think in a country such as Pakistan, where education is severely lacking, our politicians should lead by example and attain degrees to run for office. As someone mentioned above, it may disqualify 97% of the population…but if you are tasked with the responsibility of running the government or leading the nation, you should be the creme de la creme!
The minimum requirement for contesting election was a graduate (BA) degree in Musharaff’s era. So if the elected representatives can’t even have the basic Bachelor of Arts degree, which a person typically gets at the age of 20, you can imagine what kind of politicians we’ll get to lead us.
Although in case of Pakistan the degree isn’t an absolute medium of gauging one’s caliber and honesty. The top CSP officer (who is usually well read and educated) might be as corrupt as much as a matriculate politician from some far off district.
i like the fact that there’s some sort of enforced accountability in pakistan. we can thank the supreme court for that, even though enforcing laws is generally not the purview of the judicial branch.
although i’m not sure i agree with the law in the first place. i don’t necessarily think there is a correlation between having a degree and governing well. some of the biggest thieves in pakistan have been quite well educated.
i’m also confused as to how this is still a law on the books. i thought musharraf’s law was repealed.
if they can fake a degree today.. Whats stopping thm frm bigger frauds? Whatever the reason.
They should all be disqualified and jailed!
Here’s a good read from Ardeshir Cowasjee this past Sunday: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/columnists/19-ardeshir-cowasjee-our-national-disgrace-470-hh-05
“It seems that a dozen or so cheats and crooks have already been disqualified by our courts and over 50 cases are pending. The most famous legislator allegedly with a bogus degree is the man in charge of the law ministry who claims to hold a doctorate from a university that sounds like an Italian ice cream factory…
The CEC and, by extension, the HEC must shoulder the blame for this unacceptable state of affairs and see that the matter is sorted out as per the orders of the Supreme Court and as per accepted norms of honesty. All who have sat in parliament between 2002 and 2007 and all who now sit there must share the guilt for having connived and acquiesced with gross moral corruption.”
Education has always been a big issue in Pakistan. Only rich can afford standard education, where poor is left to die. Middle class is vanishing which is harmful for any economy. In this digital era, where countries are leveraging on several businesses, our so called politicians are still struggling to get a degree! I think its time to independent. The private companies must think for the country. I have been noticing that a lot of companies in Pakistan are moving forward from their traditional thinking and working more for the people. One such example is KESC. We all dislike kesc but what about their initiative to launch a facebook page to talk to customers!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/KESC-Official/171879877110?ref=search
I feel that this is great. Pakistan is definitely moving towards prosperity.
Why call them your leaders? They are public servants – they are your representatives in the Parliament, even if you didn’t vote for them. They’re not your leaders, they are merely legislators. Their job is to debate and set policy.
And THAT’S why it’s important that they are educated. They need to be able to absorb vast amounts of information, they need to be able to comprehend statistics about Pakistan’s gender education gap and they need to be able to read the literature on how (for example) educating a woman will do far more for public health and the national economy than educating a man.
Of course, education does not necessarily translate into ability. Parhe likhe jaahil hum sab ne bohot dekhe hain – balke ye kehna chahiye ke woh log jo degree yafta hain magar parhe likhe nahin hain.
In principle I agree that there shouldn’t be a mandatory degree requirement – but representatives should have proved through their work experience … See Moreand record of community involvement that they are capable of making things happen, that they are committed, and that they are worthy of the power granted to them. This doesn’t need a degree. A certain level of education would be a massive help though. Pakistan’s biggest failure is not in higher education – it is in primary education. Just get kids to matric – or even grade 6 if that’s the best that can be achieved.
Information is the currency of the world, and he who cannot use information is crippled.