Money misdirected

The government’s recent decision to establish a modern university using GBP190 million recovered by the UK’s National Crime Agency has certainly made headlines. The promise of cutting-edge education sounds attractive. However, should we build new institutions while the old ones are crumbling? Pakistan’s top public universities were once centres of excellence. Sadly, this is no longer the case. So why pour hundreds of millions into building a new one from scratch? Strengthening what we already have would not only cost less — it would deliver faster and more reliable results.

Dr Mohammad Saleem

Karachi