The way forward

This refers to the article, ‘Higher education in turmoil’ (June 1) by Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman. I think we should acknowledge the contribution of the HEC in changing the higher education landscape in Pakistan in terms of better infrastructure, creating a number of new opportunities etc.

In the initial years, the HEC catered effectively to the growing needs of the higher education sector. But now with 202 universities and more than 110 sub-campuses, it is not possible for a single institution to cater to such a large number of universities. At the same time, following the best international practices, functions of funding, quality assurance, ranking and governance of universities need to be separated. More than 80 percent of the total universities of Pakistan are provincially-chartered universities. Their matters need to be dealt with at the provincial level through autonomous facilitative bodies led by academics rather than the bureaucracy. The decisions of the Council of Common Interests regarding the higher education sector of Pakistan need to be implemented without any further delay by amending the more than 17-year-old HEC Ordinance 2002.

Muhammad Murtaza Noor

Islamabad