HEC budget cut

The government has cut the budget for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) which needed to be increased. We fail to understand this kind of budget slash even if it is part of the government’s austerity measures. The Chairman of the HEC, Dr Tariq Banuri, lamented the 50 per cent cut in the HEC budget for 2019-20 while speaking the other day at a ceremony at the HEC’s National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE). He said due to the financial crisis the federal government had approved Rs59 billion only for the HEC against the demand for Rs103.5 billion. “For development budget, the HEC had asked for Rs59 billion but the government has approved Rs28 billion only,” he said. The government had allocated a total of Rs109 billion for the HEC in 2018-19 as against Rs87 billion in 2019-20. The HEC chairman hoped that the NAHE would be able to meet future challenges in the education sector. Addressing the ceremony, President Arif Alvi stressed the need for evolving an education system which caters to the requirements of current and future challenges. He emphasised the importance of education in science and technology. He said the golden tomorrow could come only through education.

We are of the view that there should be a balance between science education and education in social sciences and humanities. More emphasis should be given to primary education than to higher education. Overall, progress in education assumes special significance considering the fact that we have to cover a lot of ground to catch up with other countries, even those in our region. If we look at countries that are ahead of us in science and technology and in overall progress in education, we see that for these countries achievements follow in quick succession one after another. However, we feel pained to see the absence of a proper environment for education in Pakistan. What has obtained the name of education is mostly trash. This needs to be changed, and changed at the earliest. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2019.

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