Opinion Maker

By Bashir Syed

Brains at work to trap the weak!

Inept and corrupt leadership is one part of the problem that Pakistan is facing; the temptation and pressures of globalization is the other factor that has had its adverse affects is the GLOBALIZATION, that like a “World Wide Web,” had the third world countries in its web. Pakistan was a priority target for various reasons one of which was its Islamic identity.

Benazir Bhutto, in order to hold on to power succumbed to the deals offered by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to mess up Pakistan’s  EDUCATION system.  It created multiple tiers, like four or five systems, using the top two to feed the students for British Colleges and universities, and in return some of the Diploma Mills requested entry in Pakistan to offer degrees which will bear Foreign names and be granted on the basis of money, creating an illusion that the person obtained those PIECES of PAPER (Diploma Rags) from a foreign Institution. This also commercialized the EDUCATION system making it a business rather than following the traditions of honour and integrity.

With invention of Computers, computer-based education was first introduced in 1970s by CONTROL DATA CORPORATION or CDC (second at that time after IBM) to train people as Software and Hardware Technicians servicing the monstrous MAINFRAMES. ( I also served CDC in that experimental phase before working for more prestigious General Electric company to teach Design and Fabrication of Very Large-Scale Integrated Circuits (or VLSI) after having trained me at Stanford to teach the second course in United States (that was first designed by Prof. Carver Mead and Lynn Conway at CalTech).

[By the way Lynn Conway used to be happily married man working at IBM when his obsession to change sex led her pursue this obsession through number of surgeries ending up working later at Xerox Research lab assuming the name Lynn Conway, which he/she admitted in an article published in IEEE published Magazine “SPECTRUM” during December issue of 2000, while still teaching at Stanford].

Thus the ruining of Pakistan’s education system occurred after Margaret Thatcher & Ronald Reagan introduced Globalization sowing the seeds of world domination and planning the control of Energy Resources of the world first having a sweet talk with Gorbachev, and stabbing in his back by replacing him with a clown known as Yeltsin. They made a deal with Yeltsin to let Central Asian Republics become semi-autonomous. After this the plan was to gain rights for the huge oil and gas reserves in that region, which were to be protected by acquiring rights to set up military bases in those countries assuring the rulers that Soviets would not dare to come back again to occupy their lands. It was at that time British Petroleum (formerly Anglo Iranian Oil Company) had the dreams of building the Oil & Gas Pipeline from these land locked countries, running through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan to bring out the liquid gold to the Market (under the nick-name of Globalization) and ultimately acquired more than 1000 military bases (as described in an article by a well-known Prof. Chalmers Johnson, president of Japan Policy Research Institute, in World Report on Middle East Affairs)  around the world to use their Globalization (or Global domination dream) creating a mess in the world, which was later shifted by a crafty administration under the cover of War on Terror threatening the world peace, as we see it today. Since Reagan’s entry as a President based upon his Hollywood credentials, several former “actors” entered the political arena of U.S. and we see all the mess they have created, without real understanding of the world affairs. They are the one’s who taught Pakistani leaders to get rich quick, if they followed their footsteps, which destroyed the education system in Pakistan.

The last nail in  the coffin of Education was hammered by Musharraf Administration, after stratifying the education into two categories:

• under Higher Education Commission fertilizing only the top minds, to shine like a star on a dead Christmas tree, whose roots were rotting, and
• “lower education,” (without any appropriate name), under a military man who had absolutely no clues about the Lower Education, or even how to communicate with HEC, in the famous proverbial sense, “where the left hand did not know what the right hand was doing,” and without any regards to traditional and sensible approach called “Bottoms – Up approach.”

The next worst thing that happened in Pakistan were the “Policy Plans,” crafted by Harvard or RAND brains, which have really hurt Pakistan in the field of Science and Technology education.

Here are my two personal experiences learnt from Chinese:

1.      During the 19^th European Photovoltaic Conference, Paris (June 7-11, 2004), I met a Chinese Scientist friend, who had worked with two of the Nobel Laureates (2000 Prize for Conducting Polymers) at University of Pennsylvania, who had a booth in the Exhibition promoting LED Lighting made by his company. I asked him the secret of his success, and was told as follows. The Chinese government created a reverse brain drain by inviting Chinese scientists to return home by giving them academic positions in various institutions. At the same time the government in order to create a sense of entrepreneurship, gave them some money and a place to set up any kind of promising enterprise, and his participation in the exhibition was the result of  that encouraging factor. During my visit to attend RE Asia 2006, held in Beijing, I ran into his wife and she shouted from a distance to come and visit with her husband and her. This time, I discovered that Dr. Gao was the CEO of a PV Module manufacturing company grown so big in just two years.  At the end of the meeting Dr. Gao told me that next time I visit Beijing, I will be their guest.

2.      During my recent visit to attend SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai, China (May 5-7, 2010), I found 1330 Chinese exhibitors, who had overtaken the Solar Photovoltaic industry to the peak (now China is number one in PV Arena, leaving Germany as No. 2, Spain 3, and U.S. at the far lower end).

On May 8, we decided to visit the highly touted Chinese Expo 2010 laid out over miles of area. We could only attend three adjacent Expo buildings: China, Pakistan, and Oman, because of too much of walking and country exhibition buildings far apart. The place was huge and many floors to climb, for which I requested a wheel chair (which was pushed by extremely well dressed, and polite College students acting as volunteers). After the tour I thanked the young student for his devotion who helped me see all the exhibits over such a large area. His response really moved me: “You don’t have to thank us, we take it as our privilege and honor to have served you as your right.” Now that is the sense of discipline and devotion being inculcated in the young students minds in today’s CHINA. I wish Pakistan would follow its example.

References:

1.      William Blum,” KILLING HOPE: U.S. Military and CIA  Interventions Since World War II,” Common Courage Press, Monroe Maine. 1995. ISBN 1-56751-052-3.

2.      William Blum, “ROGUE STATE: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower,” Common Ciourage Press, Monroe, Main 2005.

3.      Chalmers Johnson,” “THE SORROWS OF EMPIRE: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic,” Owl Books, Henry Holt and Company , New York  2005.

4.      Alfred E. Eckes, Jr., “The United States  and the Global Struggle for Minerals,” University of Texas Press, Austin/London 1979.

5.      Michael T. Klare, “RESOURCE WARS: Owl Books, Henry Holt and Co., New York 2001

6.      Larry Everest, “OIL, POWER & EMPIRE: Iraq and the U.S. Global Agenda,” Common Courage Press, Monroe, Maine 2004.

7.      Thomas P. M. Barnett, “THE PENTAGON’S NEW MAP: War and Peace In The Twenty-First Century, Berkley Books, New York 2004.

8.      Caspar Weinberger & Peter Schweitzer,” THE NEXT WAR,” (Foreword by Margaret Thatcher) Regnery Publishing, Inc. Washington DC 1998. [Korea-1998; Iran-199; Mexico-2003; Russia-2006, and Japan-2007 according to these war mongers]

9.      Alan B. Jones,” How the World REALLY Works,” ABJ Press, P. O. Box 2362, Paradise, Calif. 1996. ISBN 0-0640848-1-3.

10.  Victor Ostrovsky & Claire Hoy,” By Way of Deception,” St. Martin’s Press, New York 1990.

11.  Victor Ostrovsky, “The OTHER SIDE OF DECEPTION: A Rogue Agent Exposes the Mossad’s Secret Agenda,” Harper Collins Publishers, New York 1994. ISBN 0-06-017635-0. (Chapter 30 – pages 277-283, the Plot to assassinate George H. W. Bush during Madrid Peace talks in 1991