[Pakistan] Dawn editorial on IT's progress in Pakistan

["Irfan Khan" <khania@super.net.pk>]

Dawn, 13 Jan 2001

IT: good progress   

INFORMATION technology has emerged as the fastest growing sector in 
Pakistan. According to the science and technology minister, foreign 
companies have invested Rs 12 billion in this sector in the last few 
months alone. Given the rapid strides IT has made in the country, it 
is plain that when the government has the political will it can make 
things work. Of course the right man has to be placed on the right 
job and in this case a lot of credit goes to the minister, Prof 
Attaur Rahman, who is a scientist of repute. Since he was asked by 
this government to head the science ministry which was previously one 
of the most underrated ones, Prof Atta has brought his knowledge and 
commitment to bear on this erstwhile neglected area of national life. 
Hence the quick development which has come mainly on account of the 
right strategies adopted.   

The infrastructure for information technology has expanded enormously 
in recent months in terms of easy and affordable access, quality of 
service available and the number of Internet providers. With the 
Internet bandwidth cost having been reduced by 53 per cent and more 
cuts being in the offing, the information highway is no longer 
prohibitively costly to reach. Already the number of connections is 
over 150,000 - which means that the number of users is much higher. 
Bandwidth usage has gone up by 110 per cent. From 23 towns in August 
the facility has been extended to 300 cities and small 
towns all over the country. With tax incentives and other financial 
facilities being provided to IT investors, one can be certain that all this 
will prove helpful in the spread of information technology but also give a 
boost to the development of science in the country.   

The positive dimension is that the chunk of the IT budget is to be 
channelled into human resource development. This is to be in the form of 
scholarships for IT students and the establishment of IT institutions, 
including a virtual university. The importance of this cannot be 
overemphasized. Already it is being felt that the quality of Pakistan's IT 
technicians is not always of the desired level because a number of 
substandard institutions claiming to be training people in information 
technology have mushroomed all over but they actually teach very little. It 
is a positive development that the government is aware of these constraints 
and deficiencies and is trying to remove these and improve the overall 
training facilities.   

One only hopes that the Internet will ultimately be used to usher the 
country into the 21st century. This calls for two basic issues to be 
addressed in all earnestness. One is the question of the spread of 
education in the country. The other is the approach adopted vis-a-vis the 
use of information technology. Given the dismal state of education in 
Pakistan as shown by the appallingly low enrolment ratios and poor 
standards, IT may serve to further divide society between the haves and the 
have-nots. At present it is only the affluent classes which enjoy the 
benefits of a good education in private schools and universities which are 
beyond the reach of the low-income groups. If IT remains the 
exclusive preserve of the rich, the social cleavage will widen. 
Similarly, it is important that IT is used to promote knowledge, 
education, enlightenment and economic development. It is after all a 
means to an end and not an end in itself.