With a statement release by an honorable MPA and first minister of country’s largest province that politicians holding fake degrees are well justified of governing the nation as both 2002 and 2008 assemblies had members with fake degree, came to me as a huge disappointment.
Honorable minister insisted that a degree has nothing to do with capabilities of a politician and was just an implication by a dictator. Well said sir but long ago in our nursery classes, we were told that telling lie and cheating is ill… Not only this, I even remember teacher infusing us to say sorry for each wrong we do.
Instead of feeling ashamed about lying and cheating their way to parliament through such unscrupulous practices, many of these politicians are actually hindering the Standing Committee on Education’s investigation. According to news reports, Chairman of the Standing Committee, PML-N MNA Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali is now facing fierce opposition from his own party members, who feel that he has betrayed them by exposing their educational fallacies. This is in addition to the alleged pressure from members of the ruling Peoples Party, who also have fake degree holders in their midst. High Education Commission is in a similar situation, with rumors of DG Accreditation to be sent on leave or transferred, to bring the process to pause.
According to former Secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan Kunwar Dilshad, the number of parliamentarians with fake degrees stands at 148, with not a single political party receiving a clean chit. (Tribune, 2010)
We like our politicians have been avoiding the ethical aspect of the issue. If it had been Britain or Australia, the political career of one-third of the parliamentarians would have come to an end. But realizing the fact, this is Pakistan, and we are still on our way of realizing ethics!
Humkhayal 