Higher Education and Sustainable Development: Quality vs. Quantity

This paper focuses on the outcome of higher education translated into the creation of both physical and social capital. Optimally apportioned quality and quantity of each of the two broad forms of capital ensures sustainable development of a society. The institutions of higher learning, specifically in the modern world, are universally considered to be the service industries responsible for continuous supply of brains sensitized to the dynamic needs of society to create and reform the physical and social capital. For a long time in history, the culture of higher formal learning focused on the creation of social capital. However, the institution gradually brought the creation of physical capital also into its folds. Economic dynamics of the world of late nineteen and early twentieth century introduced new actors into the system whose influence, specifically in the Western countries, was to go a long way. Nonetheless, entry to higher education remained restricted to a select elite. After World War II (WWII), the approach changed in favor of both egalitarianism and headlong rush for material well being. The former was a capitalist compromise born out of the dependence of fast expanding and diversifying Western markets on highly skilled labor, while the rat race for material well being owed to the possibilities promised by unprecedented rate of growth of technology. Since the last quarter of 20 century, reformers have universally begun to recognize the uncomfortable reality that social function of higher education has been alarmingly compromised by the failure of the institution to underscore sustainable development. The issue is all the more pertinent for developing countries like Pakistan, where the institution of higher education is a poor adaptation of spontaneously evolved Western model. Against this backdrop, the author endeavors to evaluate the performance of the institutes of higher learning in Pakistan. With the help of descriptive statistics, analysis is carried out to determine the priority accorded to higher education sector of the country. The findings suggest that within the hierarchy of education sector, higher education in Pakistan does not appear to have ever been neglected, and there have been times when the relative allocations of public funds made to the sector warrant justifications while keeping in perspective equity and efficiency criteria. The study also briefly reflects on recently introduced higher education reforms in terms of their efficacy in contributing to the quality of service delivery. Finally, the conclusion suggests that in the presence of trade-offs, the efforts to reform higher education in Pakistan must follow carefully worked out optimization criteria.