Country Case: PakistanNational Strategy and Vision

for Higher Education

By

Prof. Dr. S. Sohail H. NaqviExecutive Director

Higher Education Commission, Islamabad

Outline of Presentation

Background Higher Education Commission Formation Function of the HEC

National Strategy & Vision Impact of HEC The next 5 years

Higher Education Commission

Background: Peril and Promise: Higher Education in Developing Countries,

World Bank, 2000 Task Force on Higher Education in Pakistan, Report (2001) Steering Committee on Higher Education, Report (2002)

Higher Education Commission Constituted on September 11, 2002 under Ordinance No. LIII,

2002 Autonomous: Prime Minister of Pakistan: Controlling Authority Chairman HEC: Status of Federal Minister Executive Director, HEC

Has status of Federal Secretary Is the Principal Accounting Officer of the Commission

Functions of the HEC

Higher Education Development & Promotion Policy Formulate policies, guiding principles and priorities for

higher education Institutions Financial Responsibilities

Submit to the Federal Government the recurring and development budgets for public sector Institutions

Allocate funds to public sector Institution out of bulk financial provision received from the government and other resources on performance and need basis

Facilitate the introduction of educational programmes that meet the needs of the employment market

Functions: Quality Assurance

Prescribe conditions for opening and operating HEIs in the private sector

Cause evaluation of the performance of Institutions;

Carry out accreditation of Institutions including their departments, faculties and disciplines by giving them appropriate ratings

Determine the equivalence and recognition of degrees, diplomas and certificates ….;

HEC Mission

To Facilitate Institutions of Higher Learning to serve as an Engine of Socio-Economic Development of Pakistan

Key Areas of Improvement

Access Low enrollment in higher education

Quality Poor standard of faculty and lack of training /

capacity building Low quality of teaching & research and lack of

relevance to national needs Poor governance of universities

Relevance Minimal relevance of higher education to national

needs

HEC Plan of Action

Infrastructure Development: Physical, Technology

Good Governance & Management

Quality Assurance: Standards, Assessment, Accreditation

Faculty

Development

Improving Access & Learning

Excellence in Research

Relevance to National PrioritiesC

ore

Su

pp

ort

Training the Brightest!

Massive Foreign scholarship programs Focus on European Countries & China World’s largest Fulbright Scholarship

program for the US Indigenous PhD programs

Strict criteria for PhD Studies Complete Scholarship package

Stipend, research support, tuition etc. Huge Local Scholarship Programs for

Undergraduate level studies

Attracting the Brightest Faculty!

Changing the Environment Transforming UGC New University buildings, laboratories, facilities Access to information Access to sophisticated instrumentation

Change in Salary Structures under “Tenure Track” system salaries of Professors

raised dramatically Research Productivity Allowance (based on

Cumulative Impact Factors during the preceding year)

Attracting the Brightest!

Research Funding Competitive – Peer Reviewed Grants to Attend Conferences Grants to host conferences

75% Reduction of Income Tax for all academics

Reversing the Brain Drain Guaranteed Jobs to fresh PhD.s with higher salary

structures under tenure track system Short Term Foreign Faculty Hiring Long Term Foreign Faculty Hiring

A Focus on Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance Structure Defining QA Procedures Establishing Standards Capacity Building

Degree Verification Statistics Compilation & Ranking Liaison with

Professional Accreditation Bodies Provinces International QA Agencies

Quality Assurance Criteria

4 Year Undergraduate Program Eligibility Criteria for Faculty Appointment Tenure Track System Criteria for Recognition of Journals College Affiliation Criteria Quality Criteria for PhD Program

Course Work at MPhil./PhD level International Refereeing of Dissertation International Publication

HEC’s Major IT Initiatives

INFRASTRUCTURE IT Reforms in

Universities Pakistan Education

& Research Network (PERN)

PAKSAT-1 Virtual University

SERVICES PROVIDED HEC Website Digital Library E-books Pakistan Research

Repository MIT Open

Courseware http://mitocw.pern.edu.pk

Higher Education Web Portal

National Digital Library

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

No. of Institutions given Access

- - 110 170 250

Training of NDL - - 5100 7500 10000

No. of Journals (Online)

- - 14500 20000 22000+

Articles Downloaded

- - 450000+

665000+

1200000+

Research Output 788 890 1048 1257 1500+

Curriculum DivisionBefore 2004, Bachelor’s programme was of 2-year duration.

2004 Initiation of 4-year BS programme was taken up in 2004 and HEC designed a uniform curricula for about 60 disciplines by the year 2006.

2006 Template for Agriculture was designed and implemented in various Agric. Disciplines

April 2007

Uniform Template for Engineering, Basic and Social Sciences was designed.

Development of uniform curricula, in line with the templates developed, for the following disciplines are in progress.

7 disciplines of Basic Sciences 2 disciplines of Humanities 14 disciplines of Engineering

Development Funding

UGC in 2002 HEC in 2007

Total Development Funding

Rs. 4.3B Rs. 14.3B

Total Development Projects

147 354

Total Funds Released in Past 5 Years

Rs. 1.881B Rs. 33.309B

Total Funds Utilized in 5 Years

Rs. 1.88 Rs. 26.68B

Number of Institutions Funded

45 76

Development Funding

Allocation of Budget in Approved Projects

Access to Information

4%

Research Enhancement

15%

Infrastructure 21%

Others1%

HRD59%

Recurring Funding

UGC in 2002 HEC in 2007

Total Budget Rs. 3.39B Rs. 14.48B

Number of Funded Students 132,226 256,994

Number of Funded Institutions 69 99

Inter Univ. Acad. Activities Budget

Rs. 4M Rs. 590M

Promotion of Research Budget Rs. 46M Rs. 650M

Number of MPhil/PhD Students 6,744 12,856

Percentage Self Generated Funds

48% 55%

Library Budget (Incl. Dig. Lib) - Rs. 230M

Recurring Funding per Student Rs. 25,629 Rs. 56,345

Funding per COE/ASC Rs. 5.641M Rs. 20.362M

Funding per Chair Rs. 0.936M Rs. 3.136M

IMPACT of HEC

Pakistan Research Output2001-2006

636788

8901048

1257

1636

460576 639

781

1039

1532

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Pakistan Total University Output

Human Resource Development

Description UGC in 2002 HEC in 2007Indigenous Scholarship Projects    

Total Number of Projects 2 4

Scholarships Availed 342 2861

Overseas Scholarship Projects    

Total Number of Projects 0 15

Scholarships Availed 0 1428 (1131)

Post Doctoral Fellowships  

Total Number of Projects 1 1

Fellowships Availed 45 259

Foreign Faculty Hiring Program    

Total Number of Projects 0 3

Total Number of Faculties hired 0 258 (175 st.)

Quality Assurance

UGC in 2002 HEC in 2007

Ranking of Universities Not Available Available

Quality Enhancement Cells 0 30

Accreditation Councils 7 11

Quality Assurance Agency None Established

Approved Journal Criteria None Notified

Approved Journals 0 77

Tenure Track Faculty 0 110

MPhil/PhD Award Criteria Varied Standardized

Eligibility Criteria for appointment of faculty members

Varied Standardized

Affiliation Criteria Varied Standardized

Tenure Track Statutes N/A Standardized

HEC IT EvolutionUGC in 2002 HEC in 2007

Total HR 250 750

Basic IT Aware employees 8 550

IT HR 2 43

Servers 0 15

Computers + Laptop 7+0 500+72

Printers 5 150

Network 0 750 nodes

Links No Air link, Fiber

Internet 56kbps 8 Mbps

Web site (Hits) 100 200k+/month

Email Server No Yes

Digital Library No Yes

Video Conferencing No Yes

Learning Innovation

Short Term Professional Development Courses 530 4249 Long Term Professional Development Courses 0 3399 Open/Customized Workshops/Seminars 0 295 Lectures/Seminars by Foreign Experts 0 190 Training through HEC Capacity Building Programs 0 428 ICDL Training imparted 0 246 ICDL Resource Centers 0 05

__________________________________________________________________

GRAND TOTAL 530 8807

No. Of Faculty Trained

UGC in 2002 HEC in 2007

The Next 5 Years

Projecting HE enrollment and population age group

         

       

      2007 2011 2016

Age 17-23 pop     21.4 25.4 30.2

univ enrollment in 000 (Incl. Distance Education)     574 955 1840

colleges enrollment 000     310 377 480

univ+colg enrol 000     884 1332 2320

% univ enrol/pop     2.7 3.8 6.1

% colg enrol/pop     1.4 1.5 1.6

% HE (univ+colg) enrol/pop     4.1 5.2 7.7

Student pass HSC exam and univ intake (000), 2005-2015

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

HSC pass

univ intake

Source: WB HE Assessment Report (2006)

Are there Students ?

Additional Faculty Required(Public Sector)

2006/7 2009/10 2012/13 2015/16General 5011 (852) 6,206 8,423 12,766 Sciences 3340 (1516) 4,050 4,903 7,431 Agriculture 1295 (211) 1,828 2,596 3,928 Engineering 1789 (211) 2,588 3,684 5,644 Medical/Life Sci 682 (34) 917 1,270 1,953 Total Faculty needs 12,117 15,589 20,875 31,722

1,176 2,716 4,131 annual increase 1.18 1.08 1.15 1.15 Additional Faculty

Type of Institution

Financial Realities

Education lies at the heart of development 2% of GDP 4% of GDP Higher Education at least 20% of Education

expenditure The Government can not do it all

Universities must enhance own income Private Sector Role is Crucial Distance Education

HEC: The Next 5 Years

2007-2012 Institutional Ownership

Quality Assurance Governance Recruitment of Faculty Mega Development Projects Public – Private Partnership

Conclusion Higher Education in Pakistan

has a new lease on life ! Vital to sustainable poverty reduction Key to building Pakistan’s Human Capital

HEC Focus on Good Governance and Management Efficient Implementation: Capacity Building Relevance to National Priorities

Higher Education Commission

Fuelling National Growth