Plagiarism Universities:
Pakistani Universities
The title of this article ironically befits to a mathematics equation. We live
in the age of ideas and new ideas open new vistas of opportunity for a nation.
Universities are centers where we train people to find out new ideas and
realities--more precisely in research. West is not rich because it has lot of
material objects rather it has more ideas Surprisingly, plagiarism is not a much
feared eventuality among academia in Pakistan contrary to other countries.
Despite its horrible consequences, many a people dare commit it. Pakistani
university professors are famous, the world over, for this ‘peccadillo’.
Usually, they plagiarize to obtain research degrees and publish research
articles that help them to get swift promotions and other pecuniary advantages.
Many academics camouflage their inefficiency and incompetence through
intellectual dishonesty. Given the rampancy of plagiarists among university
teachers in Pakistan, students do not deserve much censure.
The government pours millions of rupees into universities for research and
majority of teachers waste this money in copying and stealing others’ ideas and
taint them as their own.
In this way, they get many pecuniary and non-pecuniary rewards. However, luck
does not favor all and cheapness of few is exposed. In the absence of effective
mechanism, they are able to escape the charges ultimately and their prestige is
restored again.
Punjab University can be ranked as the largest university of the country as far
as plagiarism is concerned. Few years back, more than a dozen of professors were
accused of copying the works of foreign authors. Five of them including chairman
were from Centre for High Energy Physics (CHEP). The largest university
teachers’ union of Pakistan (FAPUASA) defended the accused and protested for
months. Vice Chancellor, under pressure, gave many concessions to plagiarists
and helped them in lingering their cases on. The then president of union, Imtiaz
Salik, pleaded before Higher Education Commission (HEC) that if plagiarism is to
become a criterion for relieving university teachers from their services then “a
Pandora Box will be open.” This is the worst thing that his mouth uttered ever.
But he never felt repentance for defending offenders. What led him to go to that
extent is university politics. Teacher-politics is an awesome aspect of campus
life in Pakistan and deserves a separate write-up.
Thanks to Dr Atta Ur Rehman, HEC, few years back, laid down a plagiarism policy
“to apprise students, teachers, researchers and staff about plagiarism” besides
enunciating the methodology for avoiding it. The plagiarism policy “aimed at
discouraging plagiarism by regulating and authorizing punitive actions against
those found guilty of the act of plagiarism.”
Pursuing the goals of the policy, few teachers and researchers were punished.
Not even a single student has been expelled or punished in a detrimental way for
plagiarizing.
The plagiarism policy directs universities to apprise students of the definition
and implications of plagiarism. However, an alarming majority of university
students do not know the very meaning of the word plagiarism. Hence, ignorance
serves as blessing.
The essential function of universities is not to beget degree-holders rather to
generate ideas. Generation of ideas requires the intensive exercise of one’s
mental caliber. Plagiarism is the main hurdle in the utilization of one’s
intellectual ability.
Already the status of research is negligible in the country. Regretfully, not a
single regular research publication in science ensues from any public sector
university of the country. Every year, university libraries are getting
overwhelmed with thesis of graduates. Majority of them replicates the ideas of
foreign authors. By doing so, they earn unsavory reputation for the country and
plague their potential with intellectual stupor and dependence.
In a number of questionnaires, students cited deficient knowledge of English
language as a major reason for plagiarizing. In fact, students study in Urdu
medium till B.A/Bsc and enter at once in English medium system at universities.
Resultantly, they do copy while preparing their assignments and thesis.
Absence of workable restrictions on copying other’s works also does not
discourage them from plagiarism. Teachers also do not prohibit student from
preparing assignment through plagiarism as teachers do not bother to check
assignments. However, when it comes to thesis, many teachers themselves lack the
ability to decide what plagiarism is or not. Softwares do not help in the
detection of plagiarism if some one has used his brain while plagiarizing.
Anybody who has update knowledge of the subject can identify plagiarism after
thorough scanning of concerned work.
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For curtailing intellectual dishonesty among students, the role of teachers is
sine quo none. First of all teachers are supposed to be role model. If a vast
majority of teachers will continue to commit academic fraud, one must not expect
good from students. Only teachers can help effective implementation of
plagiarism policy.
Strict punitive measures should be adopted for culprits. Student and teachers
must be apprised of the benefits of avoiding false attribution of other’s work.
To copy others work may serve certain individual in the short time but it will
definitely harm the career of said individual in the long run. Significantly,
most of persons who were founded involved in plagiarism were mainly seated on
administrative posts and misused their offices to add more degrees to their
credit. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the administrative heads of institutions are
all in all in deciding the fate of research projects. Usually a person, not
fitting in the frame of institution s’ establishment, would be ruined and his
talent will be spoiled. Our teachers and scholars in universities are also
intolerant to intellectual dissents. For them, intellectual differences amount
to personal disgrace. There is also a serious problem of academic freedom. If
you want to do research you have little option and every body will advise you to
follow conventional lines. Even topics of research are few in each subject. Most
of time these topics are already worked out in western institution and in
Pakistan you are supposed to rephrases the whole thesis without adding any thing
substantially new. The quintessence of preceding discussion is that a strong
commitment on the part of teachers and university administrative authorities is
required to minimize plagiarism. Unless all the loopholes in the university
education system are not addressed, the plagiarism policy will not be
implemented effectively.