Kanwar Dilshad urges strengthening of higher education at provincial level

Islamabad

Through a letter addressed to Chief Minister Punjab Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, former federal secretary Election Commission of Pakistan and National Democratic Foundation (NDF) Chairman Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad has urged to strengthen higher education at province level in accordance with provisions of 18th Constitutional Amendment.

He said that National Democratic Foundation (NDF) and its partner organisations associated through leading civil society network of 85 organisations, Pakistan Social Services Partnership (PSSP), have examined post 18th Amendment scenario of higher education in Pakistan through a wider consultative process by organising a series of stakeholders’ round table dialogues in Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar.

Drawing attention towards higher education issues pertaining to the Punjab which has largest network of universities and colleges, he said that with the implementation of 18th Constitutional Amendment and abolition of Entry No.38 of Concurrent list "Curriculum, Syllabus, Planning, Policy, Centres of Excellence, and Standards of Education" stood devolved.

It says that the provinces were supposed and entitled to establish their own regulatory administration and functionality mechanism for provincial chartered universities. The subjects so devolved entirely fall in the domain of provincial governments to be managed through their institutional arrangements, except for the Standards of Higher Education for which a Federal level standard body was agreed upon by CCI to repeal the Federal HEC.

He appreciated the decision of establishment of Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) as an autonomous body after detailed consultations, which was hailed by all the stakeholders including civil society.

The letter mentions that the multi-party constitutional Implementation Commission constituted under Article 270 AA reviewed powers and functions of Federal HEC as given under the HEC Ordinance, 2002. Subsequently in the CCI meeting held on April 28, 2011, it was decided “a limited extent body would continue to work as Commission for standards in institutions of Higher Education in the light of Entry No. 12 of Part-II of Federal Legislative List i.e. Standard in Institutions of Higher Education and research, scientific and Technical Institutions”. For this proposed commission, the Implementation Commission defined eight functions out of twenty-five functions enumerated in the Higher Education Commission Ordinance of 2002.

He lamented that many of the actions in higher education sector were un-constitutional and illegal overriding the provincial jurisdiction and undermining the autonomy of the universities.

The recent decision of Centralised Testing Service for the provincially charted universities has already been challenged in Lahore High Court. He mentioned that huge public money is being misused for organizing meeting of vice chancellors from all over the country at expensive hotel of Lahore which seems another deliberate effort to undermine the provincial HEC.

Being chief executive of the province and controlling authority of Punjab HEC, Kanwar Dilsahd requested chief minister of the Punjab to strengthen the active role of provincial HEC and approach the federal government to establish a commission for the purpose of standards in higher education which should repeal the existing body as per entry No.12 of Federal Legislative List, Part-II under Constitution of Pakistan.