ISLAMABAD: Taking a step towards the realisation of the government’s Vision 2025, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has sought guidance from public sector universities and provincial governments for the establishment of universities in all districts of the country.

A source at the HEC told Dawn that on July 28, 2015, the commission wrote letters to the chief ministers of all four provinces and vice chancellors of almost 25 public sector universities to guide the HEC in fulfilling the Vision 2025.

“The HEC intends to provide people with access to higher education in all district headquarters under the Vision 2025 programme by wither establishing another campus of a university or by upgrading existing college campuses to full-fledged universities,” the letter said, available with Dawn.

The letter which has been sent to various university administrators across the country, invited them to consider establishing additional campuses in neighbouring districts.

It was highlighted that feedback from provincial governments and vice chancellors of universities would allow the HEC to develop a feasible plan. “In the first stage, guidance has been sought from university administrators and provincial governments. After reviewing their responses, we would move forward,” an HEC official told Dawn. He said the HEC would take all stakeholders on board before finalising the plan.

Punjab Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Professor Dr Nizamuddin also opposed the HEC’s plans for opening new campuses. “This is a thoughtless project. Rather than opening more universities and building additional campuses, we should improve the standard of education at existing universities, most of which are facing a shortage of staff,” he said. He pointed out that most students which are graduating from Pakistani universities after completing 16 or more years of education are ending up in clerical positions.

The faculty members at various universities also opined that before embarking upon this mega project, the HEC should focus on improving the quality of education at existing universities. “Instead of unnecessary expansion we need to improve the existing universities,” said Dr Mohammad Irfan, a faculty member at the International Islamic University, Islamabad.

Quaid-i-Azam University faculty member, Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal said that there is a shortage of professors with doctorates at existing universities in the country.

“The governments in the past have failed to realise the importance of human resources at universities. Without teachers, universities and their new campuses would remain ghost institutions,” he said.

A faculty member at the National University of Modern Languages (Numl) pointed out that no Pakistani university is among the top-ranked in the world or even Asia. “Many universities face a shortage of PhD qualified professors. The HEC should invest in the existing universities,” he said.

An HEC official said that in addition to the universities, the HEC itself faces a serious shortage of staff. “There are a number of senior management vacancies available at the HEC and currently, officers are running the affairs of two or three offices,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2015

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