Battle of existence: Higher education body in disarray

Starved of funds and unclear of role post 18th Amendment, the body does not know where it is headed?

ISLAMABAD:

Take heart for clarity comes at the heels of confusion.

The top higher education regulatory body in the country had a roller coaster year in 2013 marred with uncertainty - financial and jurisdictional. It should look to even sterner challenges in 2014 of enhancing universities’ research capability with a slim purse of money and dealing with the provincial autonomous educational bodies if the legislation to that effect takes place.

The year 2013 was the most trying year for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) since its formation in 2002.

HEC Executive Director (ED) Dr Mukhtar Ahmad was hopeful and termed 2014 a decisive year for the commission which played a key role in expanding higher education base in Pakistan.

“Obviously as provinces are opting for their own higher education bodies, they would be responsible for top level education,” Dr Ahmed said.

The commission faced internal strife, external attempts at cutting tenure of its chairperson and a financial crunch. But one development which eclipses the rest is the threat to its existence as three provinces — Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa — are all set to establish their own higher education commissions.

Devolution dilemma

One such legislation was the Sindh HEC Act 2013 which was passed earlier this year by the outgoing government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) practically nullifying the role and powers of the HEC at the federal level.

A close look at the law shows that clauses of the Act are contrary to the recommendations of the 18th Amendment Implementation Commission. All the recommended functions for HEC at federal level --- institutions’ rating, regional evaluation councils and attestation or verification of degrees ---have been included in it.

The HEC Amendment Bill currently with a parliamentary committee on education suggests the tenure of federal HEC chief at three instead of four years.

The draft bill of the Punjab government is soon to be presented before provincial cabinet while work on higher education council Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is in its final stage.

Advisor to Chief Minister KP on Higher Education Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani said that role of HEC at federal level would remain there. “We have taken HEC on board about every development but our aim is to increase transparency and enhance colleges of KP,” he added.

Talking about the probable devolution, HEC Executive Director Dr Mukhtar said that provinces had every right to do so but some ground work should be done before taking such a giant leap. “We are not against the provincial bodies but proper research and evaluation should be done rather than hasty legislation,” he said.

The year also witnessed a wrangling between permanent and contractual employees and ouster of the then HEC executive director Dr Sohail Naqvi.  Naqvi was accused of hatching a plan to regularise the contract employees.

Financial crunch

Financial crunch was another issue which troubled the commission this year. Staff of University of Balochistan, Gomal University of Dera Ismail Khan protested and literally begged for release of their salaries. The issue was also taken up by the Senate committee on education which directed Ministry of Finance to release Rs 2.99 billion due from previous fiscal year but to no avail, sources at HEC said.

HEC sources said that the government has yet to pay Rs6 billion in the development budget. The government announced Rs18.49 billion under Public Sector Development Programme in the current fiscal year. It is the year end and only Rs5.54 billion have been released.

It wrote a letter to Secretary Finance in June to release Rs3 billion due from the previous fiscal year as over 9,000 students were on scholarships including PhDs and Rs1.1 billion was immediately required to clear outstanding dues but there was no reply as yet. “We cut other projects to clear dues as that is the only way forward with HEC,” HEC Director General Research and Development Dr Mazhar Saeed said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2014.