Elaborate the role of higher education in socio economic development. Also discuss the major function a university play in society.

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Role of higher education in socio economic development:
The Importance of Education in Economic Development
(A)Various government initiatives are being adopted to boost the growth of distance education market, besides focusing on new education techniques, such as Learning and M-learning.

(B) Education sector has seen a host of reforms and improved financial outlays in recent years that could possibly transform the country into a knowledge haven. With human resource increasingly gaining significance in the overall development of the country, development of education infrastructure is expected to remain the key focus in the current decade. In this scenario, infrastructure investment in the education sector is likely to see a considerable increase in the current decade Moreover, availability of English speaking tech-educated talent, democratic governance and a strong legal and intellectual property protection framework are enablers for world class product development, as per Mr. Amity Pandas, President-Engineering and Site Leader for Cisco (India).

(C) The Government of India has taken several steps including opening of IIT’s and IIM’s in new locations as well as allocating educational grants for research scholars in most government institutions. Furthermore, with online modes of education being used by several educational organizations, the higher education sector in India is set for some major changes and developments in the years to come.

(D) Prior to the nineteenth century, systematic investment in human capital was not considered especially important in any country. Expenditures on schooling, on-the-job training, and other similar forms of investment were quite small. This began to change radically during this century with the application of science to the development of new goods and more efficient methods of production, first in Great Britain, and then gradually in other countries.

(E) Many countries are now on the brink of a further increase in access to secondary and higher education and in effecting spectacular improvements in the quality of education offered at all levels. As increasing numbers of students complete their basic education, their demand for education at higher levels is similarly increasing. Educating girls and women is probably the single most effective investment a developing country can make, whether or not women work outside the home. It creates a multitude of positive remunerations for families including better family health and nutrition, improved birth spacing, lower infant and child mortality, and enhanced educational attainment of children.

The major function a university play in society.
It is commonly perceived that education is the most powerful weapon in alleviating poverty, elevating economic growth, producing skilled human resource, creating a healthy and enlightened social environment and making self-sufficient nations. Poverty and education are paradoxically related to each other: if one is improved, the other is decreased.

In a socially, economically, religiously and culturally diverse state like Pakistan, higher education institutions and universities, imparting education and conducting cutting edge research, are the central mechanisms that can raise the declining social and economic infrastructure of the country. Since the 2000s, there has been rapid growth in these institutions and universities across Pakistan as is evident from the sharp rise in their numbers from just 32 in 2001 to 160 at present.

Pakistan, despite rapid growth in the education sector during the past decade, suffers from severe challenges in its educational development. These challenges include lack of access to higher education for the majority of its youth, results oriented standards of pedagogical techniques, brain drain of qualified human resource and lack of adaptability to changing paradigms of academic research. Out of a population of 190 million, only five percent of them have access to university level education. It is worth mentioning that, by the end of 2022, Pakistan needs 36 million new jobs if the economy grows up to six percent annually.

Therefore, it is the premier duty of all national universities to produce graduates who fulfil the criteria of the national, social and economic needs of the country. In this regard, the role of career counselling and placement offices at the university level becomes very important. In the 21st century, the paradigm of universities has shifted from traditional aspects of teaching and learning towards building communities, economies and patterns of leadership.

Education, either basic or higher, plays a key role in the development of human capital that subsequently brings about the establishment of sound economies and harmonious communities. There is an immediate need to initiate radical educational reforms so that these challenges can be addressed proactively. The following is an exercise in this regard.

To begin with, the ministry of education, ministry of finance, planning commission, standing committees on basic and technical education and the higher education commission of Pakistan should assist these universities, both public and private, in establishing on-campus university-community partnership centres. These centres should work on the pattern of think tanks and should devise mechanisms to address dominant social problems, prepare modules and schemes for the outreach of educational facilities and bridging linkages with communities for sharing of knowledge. Secondly, since Pakistan is a traditional society with different demographical characteristics, whereby more than 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and more than 600,000 young graduates are adding to unemployment every year, these higher learning institutions and universities should develop terms of reference (Torso) to provide financial assistance to talented individuals who otherwise cannot afford university education.

Thirdly, to streamline and ensure effective utilisation of public funds allocated for development of higher education in Pakistan by the concerned commissions and universities, the concerned ministries and planning commissions should primarily focus on building grass-root level education in primary schools, especially in Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Fourth, universities should focus on creating an entrepreneurial culture among their graduates. They should produce job creators rather than producing job seekers. This can be attained through the establishment of effective business incubation centres, encouraging partnerships between industry and academia and placing career counselling offices that should work on intellectual and professional development of the graduates during the course of their studies in order to prepare them today for the challenges of tomorrow.

Fifth, education never means to earn; it means to spend. The best way to spend is spending on education and research that later on addresses the social, political, environmental and economic problems of Pakistan. Universities can play a vital role in this regard through fostering reciprocal partnerships with other educational organisations and community development centres to identify real life problems. Community development participation should be made mandatory for teachers and students at the university level. If the prestigious Australian Endeavour Award can assign 35 percent of its total evaluation marks towards the contribution of individual applicants towards community services than why can students at our universities in Pakistan not be prepared on similar lines? Moreover, since Pakistan has always been a victim of natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes, it will be beneficial if various emergency training programmes and courses related to disaster management are incorporated in the curriculum.