Private Institutions and Fraudulent Marketing

Are institutions guilty of deception or fraud when graduates do not obtain the promised employment? False advertising, also known as misleading advertising, is the use of incorrect or deceptive assertions in advertisements and a misrepresentation of the product, at hand, which may have a detrimental impact on many customers.

Because advertising can induce individuals to engage in commercial transactions that they would otherwise reject, many governments around the globe utilise the rules to regulate false, untrustworthy, or misleading advertising. Truth and accuracy allude to the same idea: the buyers have the right to know what they’re purchasing, and all required information should be on the label.

In North America and Europe, nonprofit universities do not sell post-graduation dream like for-profit colleges. Therefore, they aren’t likely to be suspected of fraudulent marketing.

Fraud, also known as “the fraudulent act” by Kranacher, Riley, and Wells (2011), is an act in which deceit is the primary tactic. Fraud is any purposeful deceit that causes the victim to suffer a loss, while allowing the offender to benefit. In a nutshell, fraud is stealing by deceit. Meanwhile, Kranacher et al. (2011) note that ‘abuse’ is often used to describe any unpleasant or incorrect action that does not fit into the unlawful categories. Nonetheless, if not recognised, it may result in fraudulent conduct.

But in Pakistan, this distinction of for-profit and not-for-profit falls flat on its face. Because HEC requires universities to be a ‘Trust’, many private universities obtain ‘nonprofit’ status from FBR to save taxes. However, they operate as a for-profit institution. Just look at the Facebook pages, and you will find advertisements similar to that of an insurance firm.

It is inappropriate for any institution, public or private, to guarantee its students future employment, and the new unit may likely consider such claims false. The distinction is that alums of public universities are more likely to blame the economy and job market than their alma mater. The public universities are challenged because of diminishing per-student funding, not fraud, since most alums believe they received what was represented.

But it’s important to remember why we have a mushrooming of private institutions. In a country and an economy that places a lot of importance on having a degree, they serve students who don’t have the chance to attend a public university. Additionally, the outsized cost of for-private university tuition seems particularly unfair since their student pools tend to have lower earning potential. However, it’s also worth mentioning that private universities like LUMS and AKU in Pakistan produce decent outcomes. It’s worth asking whether an emphasis on having a college degree is suitable for everyone. While private universities might not be the best option for many reasons, it’s hard to ignore the reality that most employers require, or at least strongly prefer, candidates with college degrees.

Pakistan’s employers can help reduce the need for private institutions and universities. Hiring young individuals who have not completed college is frowned upon in Pakistani professional society. Numerous professions do not need a college degree, and a college degree has become the marker for the lack of alternative avenues to employment. Still, Pakistani companies would benefit from breaking the societal norm because they would have access to an untapped talent supply.

There’s a lot of emphasis on “degree” as the great equaliser, that if everyone can earn a college degree, we’ll be able to solve issues like economic disparity and social mobility. I believe we’ve gone so far in the direction of this emphasis on academic qualifications that we’ve lost sight of what counts for businesses and young people. Some of Pakistan’s leading technology firms have succeeded after hiring young folks without a college degree.

Employers in the United Kingdom have begun to accept the notion that talent pipelines should include individuals without a college degree. The accounting firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young) announced in 2015 that the British arm of the firm would evaluate candidates based on pre-employment tests rather than college degrees. In the United Kingdom, Penguin Random House followed suit and no longer considers degrees in their employment process.

When discussing private institutions and fraudulent marketing, considering what those students may be doing instead is essential. Sure some may attend colleges, and for those who do not, businesses should be prepared to train them.

The Pakistani government claims to be committed to achieving SDGs, goal 4, i.e. “Quality Education.” Goal 4 stipulates “equitable education, removal of discrimination, provision and upgradation of infrastructure, skill development for sustainable progress, universal literacy, numeracy and enhancement of the professional capacity of teachers.” And, Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan: “State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years”, but subsequent rulers have used this guarantee as rhetoric to capture votes. Not much has been done.

Pakistan Economic Survey 2020/2021 claims “the overall education situation based on the key indicators, such as enrolments, number of institutes and teachers have shown improvement”. These quantitative indicators fail to analyse dropout rates (program completion) or employment.

Student-to-Teacher Ratio is essential to assess educational quality. Everyone understands that lower class sizes lead to more student engagement and significant learning.

Academic Staff Satisfaction Rate is significant because academic staff happiness directly impacts student achievements; it is critical to track academic staff satisfaction rates.

Student Satifiscation with Staff Performance is another helpful KPI since low student satisfaction with staff ties to other performance areas, such as poor student performance and high dropout rates. Knowing the graduation and dropout rates helps you assess the complexity of each programme, with a greater graduation rate suggesting a comparatively more straightforward curriculum.

How do students in a specific university perform? What do they do when they graduate? Because students are the lifeblood of a country, this is one of the most crucial key performance indicators to monitor. Unfortunately, we don’t have visibility into university records and private institutions’ self-report progress to federal and provincial HEC.

(The writer is an Edtech expert)