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The events of the past decade and the deteriorating security conditions in Pakistan have increasingly isolated the country from the rest of the world. The continued lack of economic opportunities and mismanagement of national resources tends to encourage the belief that corruption is too deeply institutionalized for the academia to succeed at implementing change.
In these trying times, organizations funding scholarships and study abroad opportunities provide a refreshing challenge, both culturally and intellectually. The experience equips grantees with technical expertise making them more capable members of the professional, working classes. Additionally, for individuals hailing from countries in crisis, the opportunity to witness life under a stable and efficient government is a crucial learning experience in institutionalizing transparency in governance.
It is only when an individual experiences firsthand the worth of and obligations upon citizens, in efficiently run political systems, that he recognizes the abuses against the human spirit committed by unjust systems. At a deeply personal level, the grantees find themselves in a continuous mental discourse over how corrupt political systems could be turned around and brought towards transparency and development.
Fulbright, which has been operational in Pakistan for almost all of its history, is the most important of the programs currently functioning in the country. The idea was conceived by the late Senator J. William Fulbright, who himself studied at Oxford under the Rhodes scholarship. The experience made him deeply cognizant of the tremendous opportunity for personal and social development that scholarships provide to financially handicapped intellectuals. Over the course of the past few decades, the program expanded worldwide and became a tremendous success.
Fortunately, Pakistan continues to benefit from being one of the biggest receivers of Fulbright aid. The program in Pakistan is divided into numerous sub-projects all of which work towards facilitating scholarship and exchanges. The NESA program conducts semester exchanges at the undergraduate level while the post graduate program facilitates study at masters and Doctorate level. The Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program gives Pakistani teachers the opportunity to improve their English instructional skills.
The Fulbright Scholar Program allows around 10 Pakistanis to participate in lectureships and/or post-doctoral research for 10 months at a U.S. college. One Pakistani student is also selected for the International Fulbright Science and Technology Award, which supports coursework and/or research toward a doctoral degree in science, technology or engineering. Additionally, there is also a summer program that allows students to study International Relations as well as participate in leadership opportunities. Collaboration with numerous other organizations including USAID ensures funding for these projects.
In addition to recruiting students through a merit based selection process, the program has proven to be a major success on two other fronts. Firstly, it recruits students and professionals from all walks of life making it a great opportunity for anyone with initiative and ambition. A broadly representative recruitment policy serves to mitigate the discrimination that individuals from underprivileged backgrounds face from the private education system.
Secondly the program attempts to recruit as many women as possible (especially those from the underprivileged areas), thereby addressing the discrimination women face in education and employment in Pakistan. Hundreds of Pakistani women have had the opportunity to participate in the program since its initiation. Consequently, the program addresses (or at least attempts to overcome) some of the most important shortcomings of the Pakistani education system which successive Pakistani governments have failed to resolve.
What can perhaps further strengthen the program is for it to incorporate courses on conflict management and governance. Keeping the current economic and political climate in mind, what is needed above all is research in expanding opportunities for education in Pakistan as well as into developing a framework for overcoming the country’s economic backwardness. In addition to the cultural experience that it provides, the program has to be restored to incorporate instruction in strengthening incipient democracies.
Solutions to the specific issues that hinder development in Pakistan have to be raised and debated. A forum has to be created in which the Fulbright alumni get together to discuss possible solutions to the country’s problems and put forth their research and ideas. In brief, efforts have to be made to ensure that Fulbright alumni make productive contributions to Pakistan’s development.
The worth of the program in the long run lies in the extent to which it can improve the quality of life of the common man. This can only be ensured if accountability is increased and greater emphasis is placed on rewarding grantees who channel their experience to engineering projects for local development.
After the successful initiation of the United States-Pakistan Fulbright agreement in 1960, Pakistan went on to enter into more than 155 partnerships with other countries. The very fact that the program has been so successful serves as the basis upon which more such agreements should be entered into, with U.S. as well as with other countries. Erasmus Mundus for instance is an important scholarship program that facilitates student exchange in Europe.
Both European and Pakistani students would benefit tremendously if it were to set up offices in Pakistan to facilitate exchange between European and Pakistani students. These exchange programs can greatly strengthen diplomatic ties between countries and serve as important channels for exchange of ideas on developmental projects. Hopefully, the future holds more opportunities for Pakistani students to learn from other cultures and channel the knowledge into building a stronger Pakistan. 
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