The current enrolment of around five per cent of the 17-23-year age group in a college/university is less than 10 per cent of that desired for Pakistan to become a successful developed country. Furthermore, Pakistani universities are producing graduates without any training in the practical problem solving of the needs of the communities they belong to and without much real life exposure to their issues.
Pakistani universities need to transform to meet their obligations of making high quality and relevant education accessible. To achieve these goals, universities will need both funds and the support of the communities they serve. The bridge between a university and the community is critical both for successful fundraising for the former from the latter and to make education relevant to the needs of the community and Pakistani society.
Pakistan, with its population of ~190 million, is currently the sixth most populous country and is on its way to becoming the fifth most populous country in the world by 2050 if it continues to grow at its current rate. With the current number of about 73 public-sector (and a similar number of private) universities, each of these institutions serves over one million people on average.
As a way of making education relevant to the needs of the society and to in turn receive the community’s support, a practical community service course should be a part of the core curriculum of every undergraduate and graduate programme. As a part of this course the graduating students would volunteer teaching basic mathematics, science, languages, art, music and basic computer skills to children and adults in need, as after school or evening programmes and to inpatients in their area hospitals and volunteer their services assisting hospital staff in providing ambulatory services. The community service would also include time spent by students to raise funds for their university’s Student Advancement Endowment Fund (SAFE). This is an endowment that makes education accessible to students from economically disadvantaged families by providing need-based scholarships and enhancing the academic capacity building programmes that directly benefit students (‘Higher education: Innovations and gains through self-help’, Dawn, Images on Sunday, May 12, 2012).
One of the most effective ways for universities to give more financial aid to talented students who cannot otherwise attend higher education is to raise funds periodically to increase the capital in their student endowment fund. For a populous country such as Pakistan the power of numbers is impressive and can make a real difference in fundraising for education. The strength of such campaigns comes from the simple mathematical fact that even a small contribution multiplied by thousands of people can mount up to millions of rupees over years of investing them in student endowment funds. Universities need to plan effective, transparent and creative fundraising campaigns where students can become a major vehicle during a dedicated educational annual fundraising week. Most importantly, higher education institutions must increase the public awareness of how important education is and make their financial needs clear to appeal to the community for their contribution.
Finding your niche The best fundraising strategies not only raise considerable amount of funds periodically thus ensuring lasting funding for different projects; they also give the donors a sense of pride. Their donations also express a commitment to a valuable cause to the society. Some schools in the United States come up with inventive ideas appealing to their communities to help them. One example in Florida is collaborating with local authorities to sell specialty automobile licence plates, whereof the tag sale $2 goes to the state and $15 goes to help fund school activities. These special tags having educational symbols such as a graduation cap and a diploma inside an apple are predicted to bring in as much as $3 million. Some schools have found unique ways to raise money from their students and community. In one school students who purchased a sticker for a dollar could wear a hat to school on that day. That particular school does not allow its student to wear hats, so it was a rare exception for most.
In another school with a strict dress code, teachers paid $5 to wear casual jeans to school. As part of its school-to-career programme, one school opened a store that sold snacks, clothing, school supplies and novelties before and after school and at lunchtime. Initially, faculty operated the store, but students are gradually taking over the responsibility for selling, ordering, and restocking the store.
These fundraising ideas can be very useful to generate funds for SAFEs and capacity-building programmes but most importantly they make excellent training of students and a great way to encourage communication between universities and the communities surrounding them. With such strategies, the participants also feel part of something significant, a sense of ownership which has shown to be very important in maintaining sustainable development practices over time.
It is time for everyone in the country to participate and offer a helping hand to secure education’s financial sustainability. Communities all over the country have the chance of a lifetime to leave their mark in history by sponsoring the future through improving and investing in educational institutions. It is the civic duty of every single citizen to contribute in developing a better future and stronger nation by securing affordable and quality education for everyone.
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