Education Cities and the Development: The Case of Jamshoro, Sindh in the Global South perspective
- There is an urgent need for a combined effort to develop an “Academic City Development Plan”
- The transformation of Jamshoro into a resilient academic city is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
- It is the pathway through which Sindh can move from dependency to innovation, and from aspiration to achievement.
By Mohammad Ehsan Leghari
The New Geography of Learning
On 12 October 2025, more than 20,000 aspirants from across Sindh — girls and boys from cities, towns, and remote villages — gathered in Jamshoro to take the entrance test for admission to the University of Sindh. The scene was extraordinary.
This annual entry test for getting admission in University is more than an academic formality — it is a testament to Sindh’s faith in knowledge. Despite poverty, unemployment, and inadequate schooling, the people of Sindh continue to believe that education is the bridge to a better future.
In this belief lies the quiet power of Jamshoro, Pakistan’s “Education City.” It represents not just an urban space but a collective dream — of upward mobility, social inclusion, and intellectual pride.
Across the developing world, similar education hubs are rising — in Doha, Dubai, Malaysia, Mauritius, and China — designed to turn knowledge into capital and cities into centers of innovation. But as Kleibert et al. (2020) argue, these are not merely education clusters; they are transnational education zones (TEZs) — state-led projects that merge higher education, real estate, and economic development. They are physical expressions of a global political economy of learning.
For Pakistan, and particularly Sindh, understanding this model is crucial. Jamshoro stands at the frontier of this transformation — a space where education, economy, and society converge, but where resilience and reform are urgently needed.
From Universities to Transnational Urban Actors
In medieval Sindh, Thatta once capital of Sindh had hundreds of universities within its urban boundaries. Historically, universities were rooted in their local contexts — places like Cambridge or Bologna were shaped by their towns, and vice versa. But in the 21st century, universities have become transnational urban actors, expanding across borders, forming partnerships, and building campuses abroad.
Kleibert’s work shows how these universities are now integral to the making of global cities. In the Gulf or East Asia, they lend legitimacy to massive development projects and help countries project themselves as modern, knowledge-driven states. Yet this global pattern also brings inequality and dependency.
Jamshoro’s model, however, is distinct. Its academic ecosystem evolved organically through public-sector universities, not imported franchises. It grew from the aspirations of ordinary people of Sindh; especially from low- and middle-income families who saw education as the only ladder out of poverty.
For decades, this cluster of universities has produced teachers, doctors, engineers, civil servants, journalists, writers and artists who have shaped the social and economic fabric of Sindh. These have been the universities of the poor, accessible to all sections of society. Even today, despite the pressures of commercialization and self-finance schemes that disadvantage the poor, the people of Sindh still look toward these universities as their hope for the next generation.
To sustain that hope, the province must invest not only in universities but also in primary and secondary education, ensuring that children from marginalized families can qualify for admission in these institutions.
The Political Economy of Knowledge
Education cities are not neutral spaces of learning; they are part of statecraft and economic policy. Governments across Asia have used them to diversify economies and build legitimacy in the global knowledge order. In Pakistan too, education is now an arena of governance — a means to project modernity and progress.
But Jamshoro’s universities were not born out of capital-intensive urban design; they were born out of social purpose. Their next stage, however, must combine that social mission with a strategic developmental vision. The future of Sindh’s education city will depend on how successfully it integrates education with infrastructure, innovation, and inclusion.
Jamshoro: Between Promise and Political Economy
Located along the Indus near Hyderabad, Jamshoro hosts four major universities — the University of Sindh, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS), and the Shaheed Allah Buksh Soomro (SABS) University of Art, Design and Heritages. Together, they educate over 60,000 students, forming the largest academic concentration in Pakistan.
Historically, Jamshoro attracted students from across South Asia and the Middle East. Students from Sudan, Nepal, Palestine, and other regions once studied here, drawn by affordable education and academic reputation. The universities also developed international collaborations; including joint programs with universities in Europe and North America. A landmark example is the U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) at MUET, funded by USAID and supported by the University of Utah and other U.S. partners. These linkages continue through Memoranda of Understanding with universities worldwide, reflecting Jamshoro’s enduring transnational character.
Towards a Resilient Knowledge City
To secure its future as a globally recognized yet locally grounded knowledge city, Jamshoro must adopt a long-term vision that merges academic excellence with sustainable urban governance. It must evolve from a cluster of universities into a coherent, inclusive, and resilient education ecosystem. This transformation can be built on five interlinked foundations.
- Integrated Governance and the Academic City Development Plan
We must acknowledge that Government of Sindh allocation of budget for universities is highest in four provinces. This shows strong political commitment of government for higher education in Sindh.
There is an urgent need for a combined effort to develop an “Academic City Development Plan”, to be spearheaded by the Government of Sindh. This plan should bring together the Planning and Development Department, the Sindh Higher Education Commission, local government and other departments, and the four universities of Jamshoro under a unified framework.
The purpose of this plan would be to transform Jamshoro into a coordinated academic city with shared infrastructure, transport systems, housing, and digital networks. It would also ensure that the universities’ academic expansion aligns with urban development, water management, and sustainability goals.
Such a program would institutionalize collaboration and position the education cluster as a formal part of Sindh’s development architecture — ensuring that future investments are not ad hoc but strategic and resilient.
- Infrastructure and Environmental Resilience
Once the Academic City Development Plan is in place, infrastructure and environmental resilience should form its backbone. The devastating 2025 monsoon rains underscored how vulnerable Jamshoro remains to these weather intensities, unsafe buildings, and water scarcity.
The plan must therefore prioritize climate-smart design — water harvesting, renewable energy grids, green transport, and campus safety upgrades. Funding under current Development budget of Sindh and SDG-aligned climate initiatives should be mobilized for this transformation.
In a province where the dual challenge of water scarcity and extreme heat shapes every aspect of life, Jamshoro has the opportunity to pioneer a “climate-resilient academic city” — one that learns to coexist with its environment while nurturing innovation.
- Strategic Branding: The Knowledge City of the Indus
For a city to thrive as a knowledge hub, it must have a compelling narrative. Jamshoro’s identity should be anchored in Sindh’s civilizational and intellectual legacy — from Mohen-Jo-daro’s urban planning to Allama I.I. Kazi’s educational vision.
By positioning itself as the “Knowledge City of the Indus,” Jamshoro can project an image that is both deeply local and globally relevant.
This branding would attract partnerships, investment, and tourism, while reinforcing pride of Sindh in its academic heritage. An annual Jamshoro Knowledge Forum could showcase research, innovation, and public engagement, helping transform the city into a symbol of learning and cultural resilience.
- Global Partnerships and Reciprocity
Jamshoro’s future also depends on how it reconnects with the world. The earlier tradition of international students from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia can be revived through joint degree programs, faculty exchanges, and research collaboration.
The Center for Advanced Studies in Water provides a model: a partnership where Pakistani expertise met global knowledge in equal measure. Similar reciprocal programs — not dependent but collaborative — could be expanded in renewable energy, health, digital education, and heritage studies.
Through the Special Technology Zone and HEC’s internationalization initiatives, Jamshoro can evolve into a research-driven transnational education hub, representing Pakistan’s intellectual diplomacy in the Global South.
- Community Integration and Social Inclusion
No city of learning can thrive if its benefits bypass its surroundings. Jamshoro’s universities have long been a refuge for poor and lower-middle-class students, offering opportunities where few existed. But the recent shift toward self-financing schemes and merit distortions in secondary education threatens this social contract.
To protect Jamshoro’s legacy as the universities of the people, primary and secondary education across rural Sindh must be strengthened, ensuring that children from disadvantaged families can compete for university admissions.
The universities, in turn, should expand community engagement; offering free preparatory classes, women’s literacy programs, and local innovation labs that translate academic knowledge into livelihoods.
This is how Jamshoro can remain socially rooted; not an elite enclave, but a shared public good that belongs to all Sindh.
Conclusion: A City That Teaches Resilience
The transformation of Jamshoro into a resilient academic city is not a luxury; it is a necessity. It is the pathway through which Sindh can move from dependency to innovation, and from aspiration to achievement.
The lesson from global transnational education zones is clear: education cities fail when they exclude, and they thrive when they include.
Jamshoro’s success will not be measured by the number of foreign collaborations or shiny new buildings, but by how many lives it changes — how many young people from Sindh’s poorest districts find their way into its classrooms.
If Sindh can align vision with governance, and planning with compassion, Jamshoro could become not only Pakistan’s first true academic city but a model for the Global South- where learning is the lifeblood of resilience, and resilience is the soul of development.
References
Kleibert, J.M., Bobée, A., Rottleb, T., & Schulze, M. (2020). Transnational Education Zones: Towards an Urban Political Economy of “Education Cities”. Urban Studies, 58(14), 2845–2862.
Popescu, A.I. (2012). Branding Cities as Educational Centres: The Role of Higher Education Institutions. Management & Marketing – Challenges for the Knowledge Society, 7(3), 493–512.
Government of Sindh (2025). School Education Sector Plan and Roadmap. Karachi: Reform Support Unit.
University of Sindh, MUET, LUMHS & SABS official websites (2025).
USAID (2018–2025). U.S.–Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies Initiative Reports.
Various research papers (2022–2025) on entrepreneurship, faculty motivation, and higher education governance in Pakistan.
All photos courtesy: Arfana Mallah (From FB Wall)
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Mohammad Ehsan Leghari is Member (Sindh), Indus River System Authority, and former Managing Director, SIDA.
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