MOHAMMED RAZA MEHDI Department of Civil Engineering NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan SYED ALEY IMRAN RIZVI Department of Electronic Engineering Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan ABSTRACT Engineering education in Pakistan receives less attention from governmental quarters than its importance to the country would justify. Evidence of the fact is that of the 24 universities established in Pakistan since the nation was founded, only six offer engineer- ing. Thus the country has been unable to produce the needed man- power for its development. Furthermore, the meager national in- vestment in engineering education offers little hope of improve- ment. Similarly, the total human resource output from the univer- sities is unimpressive. In the four-year study period reported in this paper, less than eight percent of the enrolled candidates were suc- cessful in earning post-graduate degrees. 1 Only one percent of these had begun doctorate level research, with none receiving de- grees by the end of the period. This paper reviews academic trends affecting engineering students and their priorities. Graduation rates and governmental financial support for the study period have been statistically analyzed. I. INTRODUCTION Based on available statistical data, this paper attempts to draw parallels for Pakistan between priorities (as outlined in the Eighth Five-Year Plan 2 ) in engineering education and in science and tech- nology development, and the corresponding needs of the country. In the Eighth Five-Year Plan, the allocation for various sub- sectors of education was Rs. 69,031.7 million. Out of this, 4,100 mil- lion were allocated for university education. This includes allocations for all engineering and non-engineering universities. 1 A. Review A study of engineering education in Pakistan reveals that, al- though new universities with diverse disciplines were established during the last 50 years, these have received inadequate support. 3 Only 0.22 per cent of GNP is spent on university education in Pakistan. The profile of engineering education in Pakistan also de- picts a dismal picture. Contrary to the needs of a society with an an- nual population growth rate as high as 3.5 percent, 4 engineering ed- ucation has been neglected. In Pakistan, a country of 140 million, 22 institutions of higher learning were initially established, including four engineering uni- versities (Lahore, Peshawar, Jamshoro, Karachi). During the early 1990’s, the government opened the doors for the private sector to participate in providing engineering education and also established two new engineering universities itself at Taxila and Nawabshah. II. ACADEMIC TRENDS The most recent statistics on higher education in Pakistan were published in 1987. 1 Hence this study was confined to the academic trends for the preceding five-year period, 1982–1986, the latest for which data are available. The lack of current information in such a vital sector of national life is most unfortunate. A. Doctoral Level According to the 1987 report, 1 only 35 engineers were enrolled for doctoral study in engineering disciplines in all the public sector universities of the country from 1982 through 1986. No engineer- ing doctoral degrees were granted during this period. B. Masters Level The annual production of engineering master’s degrees for 1982–83 through 1985–86 is presented in Table 1. 5 Over the period represented by Table 1, 1255 students through- out the country were enrolled in master’s level engineering study. Only 63 master’s degrees in engineering were granted over the same period, about one in 20 of those enrolled. No data are available on the demand for these graduates. The four major engineering universities of Pakistan during the years 1982 to 1986 did not enroll a single for- eign student in their master’s or doctoral programs. We do not be- lieve that this reflects unfavorably on the quality of the professional teaching staff, but rather on the inadequate academic infrastructure. C. Undergraduate Level The engineering universities established in the public sector were basically engineering colleges upgraded to the level of univer- sities. Their activities were limited primarily to undergraduate in- struction, and this remains their primary function as is evident by comparing Tables 1 and 2. Table 2 shows that a significantly larger number of engineering degrees were awarded at the undergraduate level than at the gradu- ate level. From 1982 to 1986, bachelor’s degrees were awarded to 7,878 individuals by the different institutions. In the same time April 2001 Journal of Engineering Education 207 A Recent View of Engineering Education in Pakistan