VCs urge govt to safeguard HEC’s autonomy
Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The vice chancellors of all public sector universities have demanded the government to revive the Higher Education Commission Ordinance, 2002 in its original form and further strengthen HEC for the progress and development of Pakistan.
During the 48th Vice Chancellors Committee’s online meeting chaired by Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan on Friday, the university heads emphasized that the development of higher education sector made in the past two decades could not be consolidated.
The forum unanimously opposed the proposed amendments to HEC Ordinance, 2002 and urged the government to ensure HEC’s autonomy if it wanted the higher education sector to continue playing its part in economic stability and growth, adding that the amendments, if materialized, would cause a severe dent to higher education.
The university heads also discussed the financial, governance and administrative issues of the higher education institutions and demanded the provincial governments to share the burden of the federal government and contribute to universities with respect to funding.
The Chairman, HEC, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed also joined the online session and briefed the participants on recent developments pertaining to TTS and BPS models, HEC’s quality assurance measures, and the repercussions of amendments to the HEC Ordinance.
He emphasized on the need for improving the institutions and said that many countries were now setting up higher education entities on HEC model. Referring to financial crisis, he asserted that no new universities or campuses should be established unless there was economic stability in the country, urging VCs to ensure good financial and administrative governance at their institutions.
Dr Mukhtar Ahmed further stated that the universities needed to strengthen themselves in such a manner that they were approached by the quarters concerned to play the role of think tanks in policymaking at state level.
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