Ayesha Saba

Pakistan needs an intellectual and knowledge revolution to bolster its economy and effectively compete in the rapidly evolving global economic landscape, experts say. “In the contemporary era, we find ourselves in the midst of a 'generation of knowledge.' In this knowledge-driven age, the capacity to generate, apply, and disseminate knowledge plays an instrumental role in shaping the destiny of nations,” said Professor Dr Usman Mustafa, Director and Chief at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), while talking to WealthPK. “Research and Development (R&D) lie at the core of this transformative process, serving as a prerequisite for progress,” he emphasised. In this regard, he cited the examples of Ghana and South Korea that had almost the same income per capita nearly 40 years ago. By the early 1990s, South Korea’s income per capita was six times higher than Ghana’s. Some reckon that half of the difference was due to South Korea’s greater success in acquiring and using knowledge. Dr Usman highlighted the four pillars of the knowledge economy, which are education and training, information infrastructure, innovation systems, economic incentives, and institutional regime.

He said there was a need to strengthen all pillars of a knowledge-based economy for Pakistan to be an active part of global competitiveness. “Pakistan has historically allocated a relatively low budget to education. Insufficient funding has led to inadequate infrastructure, limited access to quality education, and a shortage of skilled teachers, impacting the overall literacy rate and quality of education,” he pointed out. “Furthermore, Pakistan's investment in R&D has been relatively low. The lack of focus on R&D has hindered development of new technologies, products, and solutions that could drive innovation and economic growth,” he added. Dr Usman said that by addressing the challenges and implementing targeted strategies, Pakistan can make strides towards becoming a knowledge-based economy, fostering sustainable economic growth and development in the long run. Prof DrFakhr-ul-Islam, Director of Pakistan Study Centre, University of Peshawar,told WealthPk that the first and foremost challenge to a knowledge-based economy was that we have to change the paradigm of education from memorisation towards developing creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

He stated that in the current era, students are more focused on getting their degrees and passing their exams without a specific objective in mind. “As a result, the concept of acquiring information in order to bring transformation is lost. Pakistan needs an intellectual revolution to boost the economy, and to be competitive with the changing global economic trends,” Dr Fakhr said. “To foster the development of cutting-edge technologies and solutions, it is imperative for Pakistan to encourage both the public and private sectors to invest significantly in research and innovation,” he suggested. According to Federal Minister for Planning, Developmentand Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, the government is working hard to lay a strong foundation forknowledge economy. He said the seven pillars focused in Vision 2025 include turning the universities into centres of excellence in instruction, research and innovation, strong academia-industry linkages, community engagement, technology enablement of universities, corporate governance of higher education institutions, and producing quality products.

Credit: INP-WealthPk