More HEC funding: VCs left holding the bowl as Shaikh steers clear
The finance minister put the onus on the provinces; VCs say centre is in charge of funding.
ISLAMABAD:
The hopes of university vice chancellors to get an enhanced budget allocation for higher education have almost evaporated after Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafiz Shaikh refrained from committing to the raise on Monday.
The finance minister was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the 10th Vice Chancellors’ Committee Meeting, organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Islamabad. Rectors and VCs of over 130 universities are participating in the two-day meeting.
The finance minister said that since education is a provincial subject and the federal government transfers almost 70 per cent of its resources to the provinces every month, the provinces should contribute to the sector.
At the same time, the minister also suggested exploring other avenues for generating resources including public-private partnerships (PPP) and optimising use of existing infrastructure rather than wasting resourcing on new additions. He said that universities must attract investment from the private sector to meet their expenses. “We must sit and think together how to better use the available resources,” he said.
The minister stressed that no other department would be given preference over higher education in terms of financing and the allocated funds would be released at all cost.
In the same breath, he emphasised the need for imparting quality education. “Degrees do matter and should matter. But in the real world, most of the degrees do not matter. We should ensure that our primary focus is on quality education”, Hafiz said.
He said that excellence must be rewarded to promote quality education. “Before a student takes admission in any programme, he or she must know the potential of that degree course. Our universities should also have a mechanism for measuring and rewarding excellence. There should be a difference between performers and non-performers,” he added.
Meanwhile, HEC Chairperson Dr Javaid Laghari gave an overview of the higher education sector in Pakistan. He said that the modern university, with its mix of teaching, innovation and research, is different from the universities of yesteryears, which only served as a teaching arena. “By introducing innovation, creativity and interdisciplinary research as a vital component of teaching, and with knowledge exchange programmes, the university contributes more directly to the economy and society than any other institution,” he said.
Vice Chancellors’ Committee Chairperson Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gillani said that the budget for higher education should be four per cent of the GDP. Gillani, who is also the VC at University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, referred to the ever shrinking budget for higher education, saying that vice chancellors are the think tank which must come up with actionable solution to these problems. “We need to do this collectively as one institution. We should bolster people’s trust and define in these two days where we want to go,” he said.
Moreover, Quaid-i-Azam University VC Dr Masoom Yasinzai said that the government should develop a mechanism as to how the universities could use their properties to generate funds.
A number of VCs pointed out that they are always short of funds, even for payment of salaries, and the allocation for HEC should be enhanced by the federal government rather than referring the issue to the provinces as the HEC still falls under the federal government.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2012.
The hopes of university vice chancellors to get an enhanced budget allocation for higher education have almost evaporated after Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafiz Shaikh refrained from committing to the raise on Monday.
The finance minister was the chief guest at the inaugural session of the 10th Vice Chancellors’ Committee Meeting, organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Islamabad. Rectors and VCs of over 130 universities are participating in the two-day meeting.
The finance minister said that since education is a provincial subject and the federal government transfers almost 70 per cent of its resources to the provinces every month, the provinces should contribute to the sector.
At the same time, the minister also suggested exploring other avenues for generating resources including public-private partnerships (PPP) and optimising use of existing infrastructure rather than wasting resourcing on new additions. He said that universities must attract investment from the private sector to meet their expenses. “We must sit and think together how to better use the available resources,” he said.
The minister stressed that no other department would be given preference over higher education in terms of financing and the allocated funds would be released at all cost.
In the same breath, he emphasised the need for imparting quality education. “Degrees do matter and should matter. But in the real world, most of the degrees do not matter. We should ensure that our primary focus is on quality education”, Hafiz said.
He said that excellence must be rewarded to promote quality education. “Before a student takes admission in any programme, he or she must know the potential of that degree course. Our universities should also have a mechanism for measuring and rewarding excellence. There should be a difference between performers and non-performers,” he added.
Meanwhile, HEC Chairperson Dr Javaid Laghari gave an overview of the higher education sector in Pakistan. He said that the modern university, with its mix of teaching, innovation and research, is different from the universities of yesteryears, which only served as a teaching arena. “By introducing innovation, creativity and interdisciplinary research as a vital component of teaching, and with knowledge exchange programmes, the university contributes more directly to the economy and society than any other institution,” he said.
Vice Chancellors’ Committee Chairperson Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gillani said that the budget for higher education should be four per cent of the GDP. Gillani, who is also the VC at University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, referred to the ever shrinking budget for higher education, saying that vice chancellors are the think tank which must come up with actionable solution to these problems. “We need to do this collectively as one institution. We should bolster people’s trust and define in these two days where we want to go,” he said.
Moreover, Quaid-i-Azam University VC Dr Masoom Yasinzai said that the government should develop a mechanism as to how the universities could use their properties to generate funds.
A number of VCs pointed out that they are always short of funds, even for payment of salaries, and the allocation for HEC should be enhanced by the federal government rather than referring the issue to the provinces as the HEC still falls under the federal government.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2012.