HEC told to help enhance research quality at educational institutes

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Thursday asked the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to help enhance quality of research in the higher education institutions (HEIs) of Sindh.

Ismail was presiding over a meeting on the functioning and responsibilities of HEC Pakistan at Governor House. “Comprehensive policies, monitoring of the development grants and priorities are key to the promotion of socio-economic development of the country,” the governor said.

The participants at the meeting briefed Ismail on the powers and functions of the commission with special reference to policy making and grants to universities in both public and private sectors.

The governor was informed that the HEC supported the development of linkages between institutions and industry as well as national and international organisations that fund for research and development.

Ismail vowed to play his role to strengthen the HEIs in Sindh with scholarships to students and optimum grant in order to maintain standards of education, faculty and research. The meeting was informed that some of the private sector universities had been operating illegal campuses and some new private sector universities were functioning in the province without obtaining no-objection-certificate (NOC) from the HEC.

Expressing concern over the presence of illegal campuses in the province, Ismail asked the HEC to initiate proper legal action. “Establishment of illegal campuses, charter without prior NOC, non-standard curricula and deficient infrastructure are the root cause of producing low quality professionals having incompatible skills and poor employability,” the governor observed.

The meeting was attended by Member Operations HEC Islamabad Dr Raza Bhatti, Regional Director HEC Sindh Javed Ali Memon and Director Monitoring HEC Islamabad Naveed Shah among others.