Pakistan's poor higher education system: HEC's role

 Although Pakistan has had a number of policies regarding education, the Task Force for the Improvement of Higher Education was the first to concentrate solely on higher education in 2001-2002. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) was established in September 2002 as a result of one of the Task Force's recommendations.

The HEC has many different powers, but the main ones it has are to give money to colleges that are funded by the state; Also, manage the advanced education organizations in the country, set rules, and make plans. From that point forward, the HEC has evidently dealt with high level training and burned through huge load of cash on different drives. However, the majority of graduates, particularly those from public sector colleges and universities, have not improved in quality since the HEC was established; rather, it appears that the situation has improved; some of which are described in greater detail down below.

The Chairman's office's concentration of power and bureaucratic centralization mar the HEC's culture as a whole. In addition to leading the HEC, the Chairman also serves as chair of the HEC Commission, which has similar responsibilities to a Governing Board. Even though the Chairman is supposed to be held accountable by the Commission, which is headed by the same person, the de facto Chairman only reports to the Prime Minister. Politics and nepotism also played a significant role in the Chairman's selection, which raises serious concerns about how it will be implemented. Additionally, the various structural components of the HEC, which are referred to as Divisions, appear to have been assembled haphazardly, with duties that overlap and responsibilities that are ambiguous. As a result, inefficiency and poor decision-making are encouraged, which is not surprising.

Author is Dr. S. Zulfiqar Gilani. His birthday is April 7, 2023. He is a clinical psychologist and educator who lives in Islamabad. He was the foundation university's rector, as well as a consultant and program specialist for academics at the VC university of Peshawar. He recently filled in as bad habit chancellor of the College of Peshawar, minister of Establishment College, and scholastic advisor and program expert at HEC. The Team to improve Advanced education zeroed in exclusively on advanced education without precedent for 2001-2002, notwithstanding Pakistan's past schooling approaches. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) was established in September 2002 as a result of one of the Task Force's recommendations.

The HEC's essential capabilities incorporate allotting assets to state funded colleges, in spite of its expansive command; and regulate the nation's higher education institutions, set standards, and formulate policies. Since then, the HEC has spent a lot of money and done a lot of things to promote the improvement of higher education. However, the majority of graduates, particularly those from public sector colleges and universities, have not improved in quality since the HEC was established; Instead, the situation appears to have gotten worse; some of which are described in greater detail down below.

The HEC's culture as a whole is harmed by regulatory centralization and convergence of power in the Administrator's workplace. In addition to leading the HEC, the Chairman also serves as chair of the HEC Commission, which has similar responsibilities to a Governing Board. Even though the Chairman is supposed to be held accountable by the Commission, which is headed by the same person, the de facto Chairman only reports to the Prime Minister. Also, the Director's arrangement was heavily influenced by government issues and nepotism, which raises serious concerns about how it will be carried out. In addition, the various underlying components of the HEC, referred to as Divisions, appear to have been assembled aimlessly, with ambiguous responsibilities and covering capabilities. As a result, inefficiency and poor decision-making are encouraged, which is not surprising.

The HEC itself does not adhere to even the most fundamental aspects of how an institution works, like meritocracy, efficiency, transparency, and accountability. Instead, it more closely resembles the Chairman's fiefdom, and HEC actions and decisions cannot be questioned or examined critically. Universities are "directed" to do this or that on the outside through notifications and directives. These "directions" are typically implemented by shifting budgets. On the inside, the Administrator favors those who say yes, who receive advancements and other benefits while those who raise issues are largely ignored or excused.

Regardless of being a fundamental HEC capability, policymaking has gotten little consideration. Instead, the HEC addresses policy issues through directives or notifications that are poorly written and frequently contradictory. For instance, the HEC did not have a unified PhD policy until 2020 that could guarantee minimum standards and quality. Official letters were written by individuals who had no idea what a PhD meant academically. When the HEC didn't have a plan for undergraduate instruction until 2020, comparative issues were addressed. Even after the PhD policy and the Undergraduate Education Policy were published in 2020, the HEC exhibited the strongest opposition to their stringent implementation.

Missing a ton of regard for the achievement of insightful objectives, the HEC gauges its accomplishments to the extent that how much (public) cash raised and spent. As a result, numerous costly activities are attempted with minimal academic benefits. The widespread culture of lease chasing and the blue-looked-at getting a charge out of bonuses have caused a variety of twists in the area, the majority of which are scholastically useless and a significant number of which are unfavorable.

Last but not least, when it comes to awarding degrees, the HEC puts quantity ahead of quality. For example, expanding the quantity of PhDs has been one of the HEC's essential objectives. Because of a few drives to build PhD creation, there has been a certified PhD dash for unheard of wealth. As a result of the HEC's focus on quantitative data, the majority of nearby doctoral degrees have experienced a decline in both academic value and quality. There has been an increase in PhD holders who lack knowledge, skills, and competencies and are typically unemployed. To accommodate PhDs without jobs, numerous capacity-building and university placement programs have been attempted, but nothing can undo the harm caused by fake doctorates. The HEC has, whether intentionally or not, deviated from its mandate to ensure and regulate the quality of doctoral work.

The preceding is connected, as stated by HEC policy, to the fact that faculty career advancement is entirely responsible for the number of research publications. A fake publications industry, widespread plagiarization, unethical inclusion of names in other people's publications, and fraudulent research are all consequences of this. Additionally, because they have no bearing on their careers, the faculty disregards teaching and other academic services. The fact that academic integrity has prevailed over cheating is significant.

The HEC's most important performance metric is a rise in graduate quality. In any case, despite widespread use and exposure, our alumni's overall quality remains poor: This is exemplified by the extreme shortage of competent people who are able to do really overseeing society and the state. The HEC generally has a negative impact on higher education that is greater than positive. The HEC needs to be rethought and reorganized in order to achieve its objective of raising the standard of higher education.