ISLAMABAD – Without taking prior approval of the Council of Common Interest (CCI), which, according to senior officials of the Higher Education Commission, is mandatory, Senator Raza Rabbani-led implementation commission has been working on a draft to set up a new body for running the affairs of higher education in place of the HEC, it was learnt on Friday.
A source said the commission had been working on a draft to be presented in the National Assembly during its ongoing session, adding that the implementation commission’s mandate was only to implement the 18th Amendment and it had no jurisdiction to deal with the issues relating to the HEC, which fell under the Federal Legislative List (FFL).
He said if the HEC’s dissolution was necessary, it should have been taken up in the CCI, which had the constitutional mandate to formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters in Part II of FFL. Rabbani had already announced dissolving the HEC and replace it with the Commission for Standard Higher Education (CSHE).
He had also announced that for the establishment of the CSHE all stakeholders including VCs and senior officials of the HEC would be taken on board. However, none of the VCs had been contacted so far. Meanwhile, talking to Pakistan Today, SM Zafar said functions and power of the HEC were fully protected in the 18th Amendment.
