ISLAMABAD, Nov 9: The government has dropped its plan of setting up the National Council for Accreditation and Quality Assurance (NCAQA) on education through an ordinance following protest by three provinces.

However, the government will establish a similar council for quality assurance for higher education which will be renamed as Council for Higher Education, a senior education ministry told Dawn.

The quality assurance function of higher education may be entrusted to the University Grant Commission for restructuring.

The draft ordinance was sent to the provincial governments for seeking their concurrence, views, comments and suggestions.

“We have received in black and white the response from the governments of the Punjab, Sindh and the NWFP. These provinces have not favoured the proposal for establishment of NCAQA as separate legislation”, the source informed.

However, the Balochistan government so far did not send any comments on the proposed ordinance to the federal education ministry, the source added.

He said the task force, set up by the federal government for higher education, has also not favoured this proposal in its present form.

Therefore, it was decided that the new council will soon be established in consultation with all the four provinces.

The rejected ordinance was aimed at accreditation and quality assurance, besides, increasing access to higher education through increased enrolment in universities, enhancing the private sector through a package of incentives and increasing allocations for research through endowment funds.