LAHORE: The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) on Monday sought to allay concerns of vice chancellors and academic associations over the formation of a committee to examine proposals for commercial use of assets of public sector universities, saying the body would not undermine institutional autonomy or take control of university properties.

The commission’s response follows reservations of vice chancellors and academic staff associations over a notification constituting a committee to assess proposals related to the commercial use of university assets through public-private partnership (PPP) models.

In a statement, the PHEC said the committee had been established solely to review existing policies and proposals submitted by universities and to develop a standardised policy framework in line with the Punjab Public Private Partnership Act, 2025.

“The committee’s mandate does not include taking control of university assets, overriding university authorities, or making decisions on behalf of universities regarding the commercial use of their land or other assets,” the commission said.

Rejecting perceptions that the initiative was aimed at centralising authority, the PHEC maintained that no such move was under considering.

According to the commission, the committee will review the existing PPP Policy Framework 2016 and recommend improvements in accordance with current legal requirements and governance practices.

It said any future commercial or PPP project would continue to be pursued and evaluated by the respective universities under their own statutes and decision-making mechanism.

The PHEC said the proposed framework was intended to provide universities with legal clarity and policy guidance while ensuring transparency, accountability and protection of public assets.

The commission noted that universities across the world were increasingly exploring alternative and sustainable sources of revenue in response to growing financial pressures.

“In view of financial challenges confronting higher education institutions globally, universities are increasingly exploring innovative and sustainable resource-generation models,” the statement said, adding that the committee’s role was to facilitate institutions rather than impose mandatory decisions.

PHEC Chairperson Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan said the committee had been constituted to support universities in exploring sustainable revenue-generation opportunities. “Our objective is to develop a transparent and legally sound policy framework that enables institutions to explore sustainable resource-generation opportunities according to their own requirements.”

The commission further said it valued the views of VCs, faculty members and academic representative bodies and would continue consultations with stakeholders before finalising any policy recommendations.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2026