Higher education: VCs asked to ensure quality education at sub-campuses

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairperson, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed urged vice-chancellors of public sector universities to pay heed to governance issues that beset their institutes as well as ensure quality education at respective sub-campuses.

“There is no doubt regarding the need to increase access to higher education but not at the cost of quality,” he said, while addressing the 17th Vice Chancellors’ Committee meeting held here on Saturday, said a press release.

Over 65 vice-chancellors of public-sector universities attended the meeting.

In his address, Dr Ahmed said that many of the problems facing the various universities were due to governance-related issues that needed urgent attention.

The vice-chancellors were united in their demand for review for autonomy of their universities after different provinces have amended laws that govern their universities.

The head of leading educational universities passed a resolution saying, “We the vice-chancellors of the public sector universities  are of the opinion that recent changes in laws governing  universities is an attempt to usurp their autonomy albeit the argument was ostensibly to improve governance…the changes will be a death knell for higher education in the country.”

They however appreciated the federal government and the HEC chairperson for increased funding and its smooth release within each financial quarter.

After detailed deliberations the vice chancellors agreed to the need to curtail MS and PhD programmes at sub-campuses and allow them only to offer undergraduate programmes after ensuring strict compliance with the HEC’s prescribed eligibility criteria.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2015.