VCs oppose ordinance to clip HEC’s autonomy

Say move will reverse progress made in higher education sector

ISLAMABAD:

Vice-chancellors of all public sector universities have urged the government to revive the HEC Ordinance 2002 in its original form to ensure the autonomy of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

According to a statement, the university heads adopted the stance that the progress made in the past two decades in the higher education sector can be consolidated only by strengthening the higher education body.

The revised ordinance takes back authority of making appointments of executive directors from the federal education ministry.

During the 48th Vice-Chancellors Committee meeting, chaired by Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, the participants unanimously opposed the proposed amendments to said ordinance and demanded the government to ensure HEC’s autonomy if it wants the higher education sector to continue playing its part in economic stability and growth.

Other amendments include the delegation of powers of the controlling authority from the PM to the ministry concerned and drastic revision in composition and reduction in the size of the commission, etc.

They said the amendments, if materialised, will cause a severe dent in the higher education sector and will be tantamount to undoing the progress made so far.

The university heads also discussed the financial, governance and administrative issues of the higher education institutions.

They demanded of the provincial governments to share the burden of the federal government and contribute to the universities’ funding.

HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed also joined the online session and briefed the VCs on the recent developments on the TTS and BPS models, HEC’s quality assurance measures, and the repercussions of amendments to the HEC ordinance. He emphasised the need for strengthening national institutions and referred to various countries that are setting up higher education entities on the HEC model.

Referring to the financial crisis, the chairman asserted that no new universities or campuses should be established unless there is economic stability in the country. He urged the VCs to ensure good financial and administrative governance at higher education institutions.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed underlined that the universities need to strengthen themselves in such a manner that they are approached by the quarters concerned to play the role of think tanks in policymaking at the state level.

“Our youth have great potential, however, we need to work on imparting essential skills to them in line with the needs of the national and global job markets.”

The HEC chief criticised the policy of giving affiliations to colleges, saying the HEC will soon ban affiliations as they compromise on quality due to anomalies.

He also sought input from the varsity heads on resolving the issues arising from the TTS and BPS models.

Dr Mukhtar informed the VCs that HEC is planning to set up ‘Seerat Corners’ in the libraries of universities to promote the teachings of the Holy Prophet PBHU.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2023.