Higher Education in the Post-Colony: Market or Bureaucracy?

Abstract

Human capital theory has been a big part of the story on education and development. On this account, universities have been credited with knowledge revolution and seen as an engine of economic growth. However, this understanding of the relationship between education and economic development does not fully account for the realities in many postcolonial contexts. This article tries to address this gap by arguing that in many instances, universities in postcolonial societies serve as training and certification institutions for those seeking employment in the growing administrative branch of the state. By making the University of Balochistan in Pakistan a case, the research shows a close functional coupling of the higher education institution with the administrative needs of the state, while the ‘economic link’ being meticulously absent.