Rizwan Shoukat

Higher Education Commission

The Higher Education Commission has been set up by the Government of Pakistan to facilitate the development of indigenous universities to be world-class centers of education, research and development. Through facilitating this process, the HEC intends to play its part in spearheading the building of a knowledge-based economy in Pakistan. Following past decades of underinvestment, the renewed realization of the Government of Pakistan of the importance of the higher education sector towards fuelling economic growth led to the establishment of the Higher Education Commission in 2002. Founded by Presidential Ordinance No.LIII in September 2002,the Commission has been entrusted with a broad mandate to evaluate, improve and promote the higher education and research sector in Pakistan. The reform agenda has been supported through the granting of a large array of powers to the Commission to fulfill its mandate, and record increases in financial resources by the Government to support this process. Since its establishment, the Higher Education Commission has undertaken a systematic process of implementation of the five-year agenda for reform outlined in the HEC Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF), in which Access, Quality and Relevance have been identified as the key challenges faced by the sector. To address these challenges a comprehensive strategy has been defined that identifies the core strategic aims for reform as (i) Faculty Development, (ii) Improving Access, (iii) Excellence in Learning and Research, and (iv) Relevance to National Priorities. These strategic aims are supported by well-integrated cross-cutting themes for developing Leadership, Governance and Management, enhancing Quality Assessment and Accreditation and Physical and Technological Infrastructure Development.