- Dr Ahmed says public and private universities have been informed to follow quality criteria
Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed on Wednesday said that the confidence shown by the government in HEC’s capacity to develop higher education would strengthen this sector.
Addressing a press conference at HEC Secretariat, he said that great progress has been made in the higher education sector during the last 12 years.
He said that recent allocation in budget and its comparison with previous years, new initiatives for professional development of faculty, management staff of universities, increased opportunities for researchers, enhanced ICT facilities to universities, expected launch of seven smart university campuses and a number of other projects.
Dr Ahmed said that Rs 43 billion had been allocated for HEC’s recurring grant and Rs 20 billion for the development grant, adding that this was the highest allocation in the history of HEC.
He said that over 7,500 overseas scholarships have been offered for MS and PhD studies until date, of which 3,300 have completed studies. He said that HEC has been ensuring that upon their return they find enabling environment for research.
The chairman said that all the public and private universities have been informed to strictly follow quality criteria laid down by HEC, adding that action will be taken against those not maintaining minimum standards.
To a question, he said that efforts are being made to improve and strengthen process of online verification of documents and also shared HEC’s initiative to provide attestation facility in all the provincial capitals.
Ahmed informed the media that HEC and the British Council have recently signed a letter of intent to further strengthen existing cooperation between the two organisations in education and research. He also mentioned a recent agreement reached between HEC and PTCL for provisioning of free EVO devices under the prime minister’s laptop scheme.
The chairman said that HEC has been spearheading research in universities which has led to the creation and growth of indigenous knowledge in all academic fields. “Our universities have responded passionately to all the initiatives taken by HEC for research and development and many projects have made their presence felt,” he concluded.
