HYDERABAD, April 29: The chairman of the Higher Education Commission, Dr Attaur Rehman, has said efforts are being made to decentralize universities of the country.

Talking to faculty members of the University of Sindh and the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology during his visit to the universities on Tuesday, he said the plan was to give all powers to universities so that they could take decisions independently for launching development schemes.

He said several projects were under the active consideration of the HEC which would help promote higher education.

Dr Rehman disclosed that budgetary allocations for universities had been doubled and Rs200 million had already been released to universities for carrying out uplift schemes.

He regretted that only 25 per cent of faculty members of universities of the country possessed PhD degrees.

He announced that a Rs7 billion project would be launched within three months for faculty members of universities under the PhD programme.

He said under another programme, faculty members would be sent abroad for post-doctoral studies.

About the Model University Ordinance, the HEC chairman said keeping in view concerns of faculty members, many amendments were made to the ordinance.

He said he would take up the matter of structural changes in basic salaries of employees of universities with the Ministry of Finance.

LUMHS: The HEC chairman performed the opening ceremony of the Postgraduate Medical Centre at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences.