Devolution conundrum: HEC hears the division bells

Officials say that agreements with international donors, future of students at stake.

ISLAMABAD:

The future of over 5,000 students presently studying at different foreign universities seems to be at stake as the financial matters of Higher Education Commission (HEC) are being shifted to the provinces under the 18th Amendment.

The HEC is presently battling for its survival after the implementation commission of the 18th Amendment categorically said that the education system, including higher education, was no more “a subject of the federal government”.

A senior official in HEC on the condition of anonymity said, “We fear that all our achievements of the past eight years will go down the drain if the financial matters of the universities are shifted to the provinces.”

He said that HEC had made a commitment with international donors and given them specific projects “The higher education is a federal subject across the globe and it is better this way. The provinces do not have a uniform system nor do they have an understanding to deal with it,” said the official.

“We have not received Rs1.5 billion funds for students’ scholarships who are currently in foreign universities,” he said, adding that the entire process of dispatching funds would be further complicated if this task was assigned to the provinces.

Besides, the officials said that the fate of the recently approved education grant of $300 million by the World Bank was also in jeopardy as it was signed under a mutual agreement between HEC and the international financial institution. At the same time, a commitment by the USAID to provide $250 million grants for the higher education over the coming five years would also be in danger due to this move. “It has been clearly written in the agreement to stop funding if the strategy is changed,” he said.

“It seems that the thinking of some high ups has suddenly changed because of these funds,” another official added.

HEC officials are of the view that these institutions have agreements with HEC and not with the provinces. They could withdraw their support for education if the spending methodology is changed.

“All our future plans with regards to the higher education will be badly affected due to this step of governments as we will not be able to implement what we have framed for the next five years,” he said.

HEC is also a regulatory body like PEMRA, PEPRA and NEPRA which are regulated by centre under a centralised system, maintained the HEC official.

The HEC also said that all the universities are in favour of a centralised system and are of the opinion that the provinces would fail to understand the needs and complications.

They said that more than 70 public sector universities of the country were also against the decision

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2011.