HEC inks MoU with PEC

Islamabad
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate for further strengthening of accreditation process for engineering education in the country.
HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad and PEC President Syed Abdul Qadir Shah signed the MoU. Quality Assurance Agency Director General Dr Mohammed Rafiq Baloch, Director General, Administration and Coordination Awais Ahmad and Director Quality Assurance Agency Nasir Shah were also present on the occasion.
The MoU was aimed at revamping and strengthening process of accreditation of programmes in engineering education offered in all institutions of higher education in Pakistan and to develop criteria for recognition of programmes in engineering education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, curriculum of programmes and criteria for appointment of faculty.
HEC will recognise only those programmes that are accredited by PEC at undergraduate and postgraduate level. HEC has already signed MoUs with different accreditation councils including Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC) and Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) etc. The HEC had recently organised fifth meeting of country’s accreditation councils to discuss how the process of accreditation could be revamped and strengthened keeping in view the expansion of higher education sector, and learning from international best practices in the accreditation process. Accreditation councils are responsible for programme accreditation at undergraduate level across the country in
the respective subjects with complete autonomy in terms
of implementation under
policy guidelines of HEC, whereas HEC is responsible for institutional accreditation as per its Act.