Yes there is a need of buildings, equipments etc but the most important thing is primary and high school education which is still being neglected in Pakistan. This is where we should really be spending money. First we should have a solid base then we can build something from there. I just can’t understand this strategy of mainly focusing on producing maximum PhD’s when most of our ordinary primary and high schools are still producing students who have no concepts, they do not question anything they don’t understand, majority do not have a logical mind by the time they finish their school and they still memorize things instead of developing a proper understanding of whatever being taught.

Well, it’s kind of pathetic to expect foreign donors to put up the cash for creating such institutions. The problem with Science and Technology research is not in the number of centers and beautiful buildings, it is in the QUALITY of teachers and the curriculum (and testing methods).

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Mr. Eidee Man, being a graduate student in Immunology I can assure you that doing research in the sciences requires a lot of capital to pay for the equipment as well as secure access to patented procedures and even research publications.

It is not at all pathetic to expect foreign donors like the UAE to foot the bill for greater scientific researc in the coutry. After all, they also benefit from our expertise in everything from keeping their Airforce flying to building thier infrastructure.

The United States too is investing a lot of money in research in Pakistan (http://www.hec.gov.pk/new/rnd/Research_Grants/pak_us_joint_arp/introduction.htm)

As for solving religious problems I think it should be approached from both ends ie sending good and talented people for religious training as well as higher education in other fields…in short create an academic and intellectual environment by encouraging people to go for higher learning in all the fields. This will foster the environment for learning without and introduce concepts like academic rigour and peer review in religious as well as other fields.

Eidee Man: Good thing you said that it is only a joke. I was about to take it seriously. Having met numbers of Pakistan-educated “medicine-men” in the USA I don’t feel bad not being one of them. Of course I am saying it jokingly too.