Devolved difficulties

If Punjab establishes a parallel HEC why not Sindh, or Balochistan?

Whilst on the one hand, the devolution of a range of budgets and responsibilities to the provinces under the Eighteenth Amendment is fine in principle, implementation has been often ragged and imperfect. The latest episode of confusion and muddle comes courtesy of the Punjab government planning to establish its own iteration of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), apparently in contravention of a Supreme Court ruling that says that the Higher Education Commission cannot be devolved and must remain at the federal government level. The provincial government is seeking greater control over public sector universities, allegedly in an attempt to improve the system of checks and balances, but in reality, more likely to limit the role of vice-chancellors and have them toeing the provincial political line.

There are any number of obvious pitfalls to this idea, not the least of these being differences of policy and practice that will inevitably arise between the federal and provincial bodies, to say nothing of the duplication of roles. A draft proposal for the provincial commission is said to have been completed and is due to be presented to the provincial cabinet and if it gets cabinet approval, will be passed to the provincial assembly for ratification. As yet, there is no timeframe for this process, which reportedly has the support of the chief minister (CM) of Punjab. There are to be discussions between the HEC chairman and the CM on the matter.

However, universities need to be more, not less, independent. Certainly standards need to be regulated and maintained, and there needs to be a national template for academic quality control. If Punjab established a parallel HEC why not Sindh, or Balochistan? This is a plan of doubtful worth and requires a critical rethink.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2013.

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