Pakistan is a nation of immense talent, with significant potential for growth in intellectual capabilities, particularly in research and development. Since its independence in 1947, the country has had the misfortune of not putting itself on the right track, particularly in education and research culture.
Several interconnected factors hinder the research culture in Pakistan. An adage you might come across is that “money makes the mare go”. The insufficient grants from the government for research and development have highly impacted the excellence of the research journey. Most of our talented brains rely on foreign aid, which comes from international organizations with difficult terms and conditions. Suppose the government should extend a rich budget for R&D, the country will make significant progress in research culture.
Research requires highly powerful infrastructure like laboratories, technology and sufficient access to up-to-date libraries with journals and book databases; and poor facilities make it hard for researchers to stay current with global trends. The majority of our institutions need to have updated libraries, strong infrastructure of laboratories and facilities of innovative technologies, and lack of such facilities hamper quality research culture in Pakistan.
The other reason for poor research culture is lacking of recognition and incentives in research organizations. Every advanced country encourages talented researchers for their scientific contributions and rewards them with handsome allowances; unfortunately, in developing countries like Pakistan, there is a lack of recognition awards to encourage them, and such impediments prevent the country from excellence of research. In our academia, promotions are made through teaching performance rather than the research output of an individual.
Education is a key factor for quality and excellence in research. The education system in Pakistan is based on Rote learning, especially at primary and secondary levels. Such learning avoids critical thinking among students. A strong brain requires strong analytical skills, which are highly necessary for the research culture in Pakistan.
The education system in Pakistan is full of flaws, research takes place at the M.Phil and PhD levels, and the first four years are based on coursework, repeating the same courses being covered in Master level programmes. Approval of topic and synopsis takes a few months in academia.
ChatGPT and other research tools, such as Quilbot and other AI applications, have made the quality of research culture in Pakistan decline. Institutions must avoid and ban these applications and discourage students from using them. Otherwise, it will have negative consequences for the country in the future. In order to address these challenges, the government of Pakistan must implement systematic reforms in education and R&D. Greater investments in education and research training will undoubtedly lead this nation to a prosperous future.
Similarly, there is a big gap between research scholars and supervisors. The scholars always need assistance from their supervisors to guide them, but supervisors do not have time for their scholars. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan should bind research scholars to undergo rigorous research training to develop their concepts at MPhil and PhD levels. Inadequate training in research methodologies and limited opportunities for hands-on research training impact the research culture.
There is a big gap between policymaking and researchers in academia. The HEC can bridge the gap between policymakers and researchers at the university level. HEC must reform campus research culture and impart training to scholars in industrial and policymaking research.
Similarly, there is a brain drain as trained people are migrating on a large scale to other countries for better livelihood, funding and other facilities; such large migration creates dearth in quality research.
Those who come back from advanced countries aspire to promote a research culture in the country. Still, the stakeholders and bureaucratic style of leadership creates hurdles for them to extend such skills.
The social and cultural barriers are other crucial factors that hinder research culture in Pakistan; there is a lack of a research mindset in the country, and many people in Pakistan consider research as secondary to professions like medicine, law and engineering.
The language barrier is another factor that impedes research culture, owing to the fact that all quality research is published in English, which is the second language for all Pakistanis; this can also create restrictions and communication gaps in the international community. Most Pakistanis are conducting research for degree programmes, which is dumped on library shelves. A person who spends two or three years on research ends up on the shelves, and nobody dares to open it for practical experiences.
Most graduates from Pakistani Universities need more international collaborations, like symposiums and conferences. Several Pakistanis are sending their abstracts and proposals for international conferences, and ultimately, they are denied participation because their findings are not scientifically addressed.
Last but not least, ChatGPT and other research tools, such as Quilbot and other AI applications, have made the quality of research culture in Pakistan decline. Institutions must avoid and ban these applications and discourage students from using them. Otherwise, it will have negative consequences for the country in the future. In order to address these challenges, the government of Pakistan must implement systematic reforms in education and R&D. Greater investments in education and research training will undoubtedly lead this nation to a prosperous future.
