ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Monday emphasised the need to empower the education sector and recommended that universities and institutions should develop strategies that enable them to become self-sufficient in managing their operations.

The Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training, which met with Senator Bushra Anjum Butt in the chair, discussed funding and other issues of the universities.

The debate on funding started during discussion on the increasing recurring grant/seed money for the far-flung University of Chitral.

The committee directed all concerned authorities to coordinate with each other and present a concrete proposal in the next meeting. The chairperson suggested a meeting with the provincial authorities to resolve the funding issue. The committee also recommended universities and concerned institutions to develop strategies for becoming self-sufficient in managing operations.

Says universities should develop strategies to become self-sufficient in managing their operations

The issue related to the shortage of funding faced by Chitral University was raised by Senator Falak Naz. She pleaded for an increase in funding for the university. The committee was told that overall funding of public sector universities had been stagnant since 2019.

It is relevant to note here that many public sector universities have been facing severe financial crunches. Even hundreds of visiting faculty members of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) Islamabad have been waiting for their salaries for the last around two years (since fall2023).

Sources said for the current fiscal year, HEC’s requirement was Rs125 billion while the allocation for it was Rs65 billion.

The committee also discussed the issue of an increasing trend of plagiarism in thesis writing by students through Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.

Senator Dr Afnanullah Khan took up this issue and informed the committee that students have become habitual users of AI to generate their degree thesis, which negatively impacted their critical thinking and creativity.

Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed told the committee that with the rise of AI in 2023, HEC had adopted an upgraded version of Turnitin software to counter such activities.

The chairperson of the committee directed that all universities must adopt updated technologies and software to prevent academic dishonesty and help build an honest educational culture.

Meanwhile, the mover of a bill for setting up a private ‘University of Business, Sciences and Technology’, Senator Abdul Shakoor requested the committee to pass the bill for establishing a university. However, the chairman HEC said that the requirements should be met for the university in the capital. After detailed discussion, the committee assured the senator that it will take up the bill after fulfillment of the requirements prescribed in HEC rules.

During the meeting, a private member bill, “The Nexus International University of Health, Emerging Sciences, and Technology Islamabad Bill 2025”, moved by Senator Nasir Mehmood, was unanimously passed. The committee also discussed a longstanding issue faced by law students of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, regarding the non-conduction of supplementary exams for failed students of the 2018 batch. Both the university administration and the affected students were given the opportunity to present their perspectives.

Finding the matter complex, the committee decided to form a subcommittee with instructions to summon all stakeholders, including the Bar Council Multan.

Meanwhile, the procedure for appointing the head of the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD) was also reviewed. It was revealed that the head of the institution was appointed annually under the Federal University Ordinance/Act 2002 which is now outdated. The chairperson of the committee directed that the Federal University Ordinance/Act be revised.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2025