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Pakistan's higher education sector stands at a defining moment. For years, policymakers, academics and education planners have focused on expanding access, improving infrastructure and increasing university enrollment. While these goals remain important, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping economies, workplaces and societies, forcing universities everywhere to rethink what they teach and how they teach it.
For Pakistan, this challenge is particularly important. The country is home to one of the world's youngest populations, whose future will depend not only on acquiring degrees but also on developing the skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven world.
The federal government's Budget 2026-27 reflects the importance attached to education and skills development. Combined federal and provincial spending on education is expected to reach nearly Rs1.8 trillion. At the federal level, Rs148.3 billion has been allocated for education and skills development, including Rs112 billion for the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Additional funding has been earmarked for Daanish Schools and youth skills programmes designed to prepare young Pakistanis for emerging economic realities.
These investments are encouraging. Yet money alone cannot determine the future of higher education. Across the world, universities are grappling with technological disruptions that are fundamentally changing how knowledge is created, shared and applied.
Pakistan's higher education indicators present a mixed picture. A record 47 Pakistani universities were included in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025, while female students now account for more than half of total university enrollment.
These developments are encouraging. Yet significant challenges remain. Pakistan's gross tertiary enrollment ratio stands at only 10.9 percent, meaning fewer than 11 out of every 100 eligible young people are enrolled in higher education. The global average exceeds 30 percent. University enrollment, which peaked at around 2.23 million students in 2020-21, has declined to approximately 1.95 million in recent years. Equally concerning is the fact that nearly one-third of graduates remain unemployed six months after graduation, raising questions about the relevance of existing academic programmes.
From AI to Super AI
This debate becomes even more urgent as the world moves beyond the first generation of AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot. Now, researchers are discussing Artificial Superintelligence, often referred to as Super AI, which describes systems capable of performing complex reasoning, research, planning, coding and creative problem-solving at levels that may eventually surpass human capabilities in many fields. Whether such systems emerge in the near future or remain years away, their implications for higher education are important.
Educationist Dr Muhammad Yahya Noori believes that while AI offers enormous potential, its excessive, uncritical and unguided use may undermine some of the very skills universities are supposed to develop.
"To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail," he remarks. "Many tasks that require independent thinking, analysis and reflection are now being delegated to AI systems."
According to Dr Noori, AI should be viewed as a tool rather than a substitute for human intellect. While it can improve efficiency, overreliance on AI risks weakening critical thinking, creativity and deep engagement with ideas. The concern is particularly relevant in educational environments where students are often tempted to seek quick answers rather than undertake the difficult process of learning.
Dr Noori points out that AI functions largely on prompts, and the quality of its output depends heavily on the quality of instructions provided by the user.
He also points to another growing concern: AI hallucinations, which means that AI systems can generate inaccurate or entirely fabricated information with complete confidence. Without proper verification, students may unknowingly rely on misleading content.
He said the bigger challenge is that AI has arrived faster than educational institutions were prepared for. Most universities have yet to develop comprehensive policies regarding AI use, while both teachers and students often lack formal training in using these technologies responsibly and effectively.
The decline of reading and critical thinking
While endorsing Dr Noori’s views, the educator, scholar, journalist and media analyst Prof Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, also believes that the widespread availability of AI is accelerating a decline in reading habits among students.
Unlike earlier technological innovations that required specialised skills or expensive equipment, AI has become accessible to virtually anyone with a smartphone and internet connection. While this democratisation of technology has many benefits, it also carries unintended consequences.
Dr Khan argues that students now rely on AI-generated summaries instead of reading books, research papers and original texts.
He recalls a recent interaction with students from a leading private university who sought his views on historical developments in Pakistan's media landscape in 1970s. After recommending several books and encouraging them to take notes, he was surprised to find little interest in reading the material. Instead, the students preferred simply recording his comments.
For Dr Khan, the incident reflected a broader shift in learning behaviour. Information has become easier to obtain, but intellectual engagement with that information appears to be declining.
Universities at a crossroads
The above trend is particularly troubling in Pakistan, where rote learning has long dominated educational practices. Students are often rewarded for memorisation rather than inquiry, while classroom environments discourage questioning and debate. If AI is used merely as a shortcut, universities risk producing graduates who can generate answers but struggle to analyse, evaluate or challenge them.
The future of work and employability
The impact of AI extends well beyond the classroom. It is also reshaping labour markets and redefining professional careers.
Dr Noori warns that many entry-level positions that traditionally allowed graduates to learn professional skills gradually are disappearing. AI systems can now perform many routine tasks previously assigned to junior employees. As a result, graduates may enter workplaces without any practical experience necessary to develop expertise.
This highlights the importance of soft skills like communication, teamwork, networking, problem-solving, adaptability, and critical thinking, where human capabilities continue to provide value.
The future workforce will not compete directly with machines. Rather, successful professionals will be those who learn how to work alongside intelligent systems while contributing skills that technology cannot easily replicate.
Journalism in the age of AI
Few professions, including journalism, illustrate this transformation more clearly. Veteran journalist Mazhar Abbas believes journalism will survive the AI revolution, though the profession may look very different in the years ahead. Rather than replacing journalists, he argues, AI should be used as an assistive tool that enhances reporting and newsroom efficiency.
Major international media organisations are already moving in this direction. Reuters uses AI to support reporting, editing and content production under human supervision. Al Jazeera has introduced AI-assisted newsroom systems, while organisations such as CNA and TIME Magazine are experimenting with AI-driven research and audience engagement tools. The New York Times permits journalists to use approved internal AI systems for headline suggestions, summaries and research support, but editorial control remains firmly in human hands.
These examples offer an important lesson for Pakistan. AI can assist journalists in processing information, analysing data and improving productivity, but it cannot replace human judgment, source development, investigative reporting, ethical decision-making or public trust. So the students of journalism should be trained for responsible use of AI.
Beyond technology
Technology alone cannot solve Pakistan's educational challenges. The deeper issues remain quality, equity, faculty development, research capacity and academic freedom.
As Pakistan moves toward its long-term development goals, higher education must be viewed not merely as a sector requiring funding but as a strategic investment in the country's future. The emergence of AI and the prospect of Super AI offer unprecedented opportunities for learning, innovation and economic growth. Yet these opportunities will only be realised if universities strengthen, rather than weaken, the human capacities that make education meaningful. In the age of AI and later Super AI, the future will belong not to those who can merely access information, but to those who can think critically about it.
— The writer is Editor Supplements and Special Reports. She can be reached at: [email protected]
