One other 12 months ends however claims, to make the nation greater training system at par with worldwide tempo, didn’t finish as many integral objectives remained unfilled by the Increased Schooling Fee (HEC), the authority presupposed to take care of the affairs of upper research within the nation.
As per info accessible with Every day Occasions, formulation of correct insurance policies was a hard-hitting situation on the HEC. These which had been executed by and huge, their implementations remained one other huge query. Beneath commencement coverage was considered one of such examples.
Launched a few years again, the under-grad was presupposed to be applied within the Diploma Awarding Institutes (DAIs) and universities throughout the nation having many flaws. Furthermore, implementation of that coverage with letter and spirit was one other daunting job. The educationists of the view, largely greater academic establishments, denied following attributable to its flawed standing.
The Chairman HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, who additionally took cost a number of months again, held a gathering in Lahore with completely different stakeholders together with fee senior staffers and reaffirmed to revive that coverage.
The mechanism, to keep up high quality training and monitoring requirements, has a number of room to be improved.
Retrieving budgetary cuts of the HEC was additionally a distant dream. The federal government repeatedly makes cuts from the annual price range of the HEC since the previous few years which impacts high quality of training in the end.
The federal government had allotted round Rs 30 billion to HEC as recurring grant (for salaries and pension) for public sector universities in opposition to HEC’s demand of Rs104 billion. This was 45 p.c lower than the present earlier fiscal 12 months’s price range.
Regardless of VCs of some public sector universities had urged the federal government to supply funds in accordance with the demand put forth by HEC, it couldn’t be executed which reveals the laxity of the authorities involved.
Up to now, no type of system is in place by which HEC may maintain accountable after tracing these students who skipped after availing scholarships sponsored by the fee beneath completely different scholarship programmes. Regardless of this age of modernization, it nonetheless depends merely on undertakings submitted by such students for arriving again to their dwelling nation and serving right here for five years a minimum of. As per a doc, HEC confronted lack of over Rs 45 million in a single case because it remained didn’t get better this quantity from PhD students who availed scholarship beneath School Improvement Programme (FDP). This, as per sources, was just one instance on this regard.
The appointment of everlasting Govt Director (ED) looks like a ‘pie within the sky’. The division runs with out having ED from 2018. Presently Dr Shaista Sohail is engaged on a provisional foundation. Not solely this, she has additionally been given appearing cost of two public sector universities within the capital. As per HEC act, the ED is Principal Accounting officer and second most key administrative slot after Chairperson.
As a monitoring physique, the HEC confronted hurdles to present the suitable job to the suitable official inside the division. Many posts are being occupied by the individuals who aren’t related to them.
Nonetheless, incumbent administration has tried to streamline this method. As per notification, round 26 senior staffers reshuffled together with three advisors 6 Director Generals.
Regardless of all these lacking objectives, Chairman Dr Ahmed continues to be optimistic to do its finest to boost the HEC requirements. “The room of enchancment is at all times there, however dedication can fill this hole,” he justified.