'Save my baby': Dr Attaur Rehman seeks support for the HEC
Save the HEC from becoming a political tool, pleads Dr Attaur Rehman.
KARACHI:
Amidst an intimate gathering at the T2F café in Karachi on Sunday evening, Dr Attaur Rehman, Former Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), urged education enthusiasts to raise their voices using different platforms to save “his baby”, the HEC from losing its autonomy to the current government.
The latest controversy surrounding the HEC erupted when Dr Sohail Naqvi, the Executive Director for HEC for the past nine years was replaced by the secretary of the ministry of education and training, Major (retd) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on November 29.
Rahman termed Chaudhry’s appointment “not only a violation of the law but also in direct contempt of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.” He said that the HEC Act not only empowers the Commission to appoint its own ED but the Supreme Court of Pakistan had also passed a ruling in April last year that granted constitutional protection to the HEC as an independent regulatory authority.
According to Rehman, the HEC had always upheld its own standards of excellence, which repeatedly irked those in power. He said this in reference to the pressure exerted on HEC when the Supreme Court’s ordered a verification of the educational degrees of legislators in 2010.
“When we refused to bend under political pressure and called a spade a spade, they tried to shred HEC and make education a provincial matter,” he said referring to the attempts made at devolving the HEC last year.
Rahman highlighted that education globally is controlled by the center, and sticking to a similar model for HEC in Pakistan has yielded positive results.
‘A silent revolution’
Recapping HEC’s achievements which have been called “a silent revolution” in an evaluation by the World Bank, he cited an increase in the enrollment rate in universities from 270,000 in 2003 to over a million students currently. The number of higher education institutions increased from 74 in 2001 to 143 in 2012 and several of them made it to the top 500 higher education institutions in the world.
He also emphasized that the quality of education along with the quantity has been a priority for the HEC. Therefore, the use of technology and digital tools has also increased significantly over the past decade and tougher criterion for the appointment and promotion of faculty has been put into place.
The HEC’s contributions to the education system in Pakistan have been recognized globally, stated Rehman. He cited India as an example, which is planning to launch a similar model by closing down its University Grant Comission and setting up a National Commission of Higher Education and Research (NCHER) which is modeled along the lines of HEC.
Rahman said that while Dr Sohail Naqvi, the terminated ED was at the heart of these achievements, his dismissal had more serious implications because of the violation of law.
Rahman appealed to civil society to raise their voices and join him in his mission to save the HEC from becoming a political tool.
“The future of the country does not lie in our oil or gold or minerals, but in our children. And it is our duty to prevent entities like the HEC falling prey to political tools so that investment in these children’s brighter future can be ensured,” he said.
Amidst an intimate gathering at the T2F café in Karachi on Sunday evening, Dr Attaur Rehman, Former Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), urged education enthusiasts to raise their voices using different platforms to save “his baby”, the HEC from losing its autonomy to the current government.
The latest controversy surrounding the HEC erupted when Dr Sohail Naqvi, the Executive Director for HEC for the past nine years was replaced by the secretary of the ministry of education and training, Major (retd) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry on November 29.
Rahman termed Chaudhry’s appointment “not only a violation of the law but also in direct contempt of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.” He said that the HEC Act not only empowers the Commission to appoint its own ED but the Supreme Court of Pakistan had also passed a ruling in April last year that granted constitutional protection to the HEC as an independent regulatory authority.
According to Rehman, the HEC had always upheld its own standards of excellence, which repeatedly irked those in power. He said this in reference to the pressure exerted on HEC when the Supreme Court’s ordered a verification of the educational degrees of legislators in 2010.
“When we refused to bend under political pressure and called a spade a spade, they tried to shred HEC and make education a provincial matter,” he said referring to the attempts made at devolving the HEC last year.
Rahman highlighted that education globally is controlled by the center, and sticking to a similar model for HEC in Pakistan has yielded positive results.
‘A silent revolution’
Recapping HEC’s achievements which have been called “a silent revolution” in an evaluation by the World Bank, he cited an increase in the enrollment rate in universities from 270,000 in 2003 to over a million students currently. The number of higher education institutions increased from 74 in 2001 to 143 in 2012 and several of them made it to the top 500 higher education institutions in the world.
He also emphasized that the quality of education along with the quantity has been a priority for the HEC. Therefore, the use of technology and digital tools has also increased significantly over the past decade and tougher criterion for the appointment and promotion of faculty has been put into place.
The HEC’s contributions to the education system in Pakistan have been recognized globally, stated Rehman. He cited India as an example, which is planning to launch a similar model by closing down its University Grant Comission and setting up a National Commission of Higher Education and Research (NCHER) which is modeled along the lines of HEC.
Rahman said that while Dr Sohail Naqvi, the terminated ED was at the heart of these achievements, his dismissal had more serious implications because of the violation of law.
Rahman appealed to civil society to raise their voices and join him in his mission to save the HEC from becoming a political tool.
“The future of the country does not lie in our oil or gold or minerals, but in our children. And it is our duty to prevent entities like the HEC falling prey to political tools so that investment in these children’s brighter future can be ensured,” he said.