RECOGNITION WITHOUT MERIT? TAMGHA E IMTIAZ OR TAMGHA E SHOHRAT IN PAKISTAN CIVIL AWARDS SYSTEM, 2016–2026

Abstract

For the past decades, every year, Pakistan’s civil awards have regularly honored hundreds of individuals across various fields, including science, journalism, sports, and entertainment. In this study the Tamgha‑e‑Imtiaz is meant to honor academic best performance distributions as well as heroes and public service (Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, Art. 259). In practice, doubts have fully fledged about whether the system truly rewards merit, especially in education, or has pointed toward favoring high visibility and social influence (The Express Tribune., 2022). This paper uses public data from the last ten years (2016 to 2026) to examine who appears visibly in civil award announcements and news coverage. Sourced from the Cabinet Division documents, Press Information Department releases, and media lists from outlets such as Dawn, The News International, The Express Tribune, and Geo News, the analysis focuses on two issues: (1) how often education and “science & education” appear as labeled categories and (2) whether professors of education, national curriculum experts, and national education policymakers are named as recipients (PID P. I., 2022).  The findings of this study show that the academics in science, engineering, and medicine are regularly recognized, while national curriculum writers and education policy experts are almost absent from high-profile listings. By contrast, media, arts, and sports figures receive reliable and prominent attention. The study says the decision does not fulfil the promise of academic recognition enshrined in the constitution and dispenses a discouraging message to neglected educators and policymakers. The report should be summarized with practical recommendations for creating a different education and curriculum group, as well as for ensuring that each year, Where a senior university professor or executive policy and curriculum framework at the National Curriculum Council Pakistan spends their whole career creating the very knowledge that keeps the country alive, only to retire into poverty and public anonymity, it sends a disturbing message to the entire youth of a developing nation, also get a fair and reliable share of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz honors.