Thursday 31 March 2011

Dr AQ Khan says: HEC is a strategic organisation, don’t shred it to pieces

ISLAMABAD: Renowned nuclear scientist Dr AQ Khan has strongly opposed what he has called the destruction of the country’s highest forum to guarantee for quality of education, the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

“There is a move to destroy the Higher Education Commission by shredding it to pieces and hand these pieces to the provinces. This is a sure recipe for disaster. A central role of the regulatory authority is vital to ensure standards and to build the requisite high level manpower needed to develop a knowledge economy. The destruction of HEC through its fragmentation will have devastating consequences for Pakistan,” he said in a write-up sent to The News.


 http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=4990&Cat=13&dt=3/31/2011

HEC Devolution: Behind the Scene


The implementation Committee recent decision to devolve HEC to provinces, urges a common man to analysis on following point
1.       Provinces empowerment to fund Higher Education Sector under NFC is achievable without devolution of HEC.

If the goal is to enable provinces to manage / allocate and monitor the funds to province higher education sector under NFC awards than it can be achieved without devolution of HEC.  The provinces can act as a donor / funding agencies for the project of the projects their provinces universities with all rights to fund allocation, monitoring etc.
 Further an separate independent monitoring Provisional Councils can be formed as already permissible in HE act to monitor / suggest the provinces prpjects

Higher Education Commission tremendous performance of achieving goals, funds disbursement and project execution is not only accept by national bodies including Implementation Committee but also widely  accepted by international bodies and donor agencies . it is the outcome that world bank agree to disburse funds of 300 million dollar .  
Achieving excellence not only require the  political slogans but also require
a.       Committed Expert Leadership
b.      Consistent Team
c.       Specialized Funds  Disbursement and Monitoring   System
d.      Specialize Project Monitoring System
e.      Special Planning Unit
f.        Separate Project Management Unit
g.       Strict Monitoring and Evaluation Rules / Standard Operating Procedures and team

       Higher education Commission established all that in due course and its excellence is the outcome of all these factors and which make it now capable to execute the project in more fast track way and also to maintain transparency.
 Creating such organized system in decentralized organizations at first glance is so difficult and if not than I will require the same tenure which HEC took to reach here.
Analyzing above facts, one can easily notice that HEC devolution is not required for Funds disbursement through provinces than what is the reason of doing that?  

HEC must not be devolved in the interest of Pakistan (Dr. Javaid R. Laghari) Thursday, March 31, 2011 10:11 AM

Dr. Javaid R. Laghari ( chairman HEC )  said that the 18th Amendment provides full cover to the HEC so there was nothing against law, which they were demanding. HEC must not be devolved in the interest of Pakistan

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Devolution may deprive HEC of $300m WB loan

Islamabad, March 28: What could be termed as the first and the worst setback of devolution is the fact that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) would lose $300 million loan approved by the World Bank (WB) to support its various programmes for the next five years.
The $300 million equivalent credit for the tertiary education support project was supposed to finance the government's tertiary education development programme that would leverage an estimated investment of approximately Rs1.7 billion in additional resources from the government.
According to sources, the loan deal would automatically come to an end after the devolution of the HEC because of some legal implications. "There is a clause in the agreement between the WB and HEC that any change in the legal status of the HEC would end the agreement at once," said HEC Executive Director Dr. Sohail Naqvi.
 More : http://www.interface.edu.pk/students/March-11/HEC-devolution-and-WB-loan.asp

The Implementation Committee was unanimous in praising the HEC’s achievements over the past eight years

The Implementation Committee was unanimous in praising the HEC’s achievements over the past eight years. However, given the interpretation of the 18th Amendment, the chairman of the committee said there was no role for HEC in the future except with respect to standards and regulation of higher education. The committee fully understood that the provinces currently did not have the capacity to manage the functions of HEC and time would be required to sort out the modalities of management of higher education by the provinces. The commission would consult vice chancellors and stakeholders while drafting parameters of the new laws pertaining to higher education at the federal and provincial levels.

more:  http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8596004-commission-finally-approves-devolution-of-five-more-ministries

HEC devolution

REPORTS that the government plans to devolve higher education to the provinces have left many in the world of academia — as well as others concerned with the state of education in Pakistan — unsettled. In particular, the fact that parliament’s implementation commission on the 18th Amendment is considering splitting the Higher Education Commission into smaller units has raised eyebrows. The HEC, an autonomous body, is currently mandated with regulating the higher education sector in Pakistan. That may change if the parliamentary committee has its way. However, there seems to be a consensus in acade-mic circles that devolving higher education is a bad idea. Experts feel that higher education should remain with the federal government to maintain uniformity and to ensure that students don’t suffer. Former HEC chairman Prof Atta-ur-Rahman says the commission already has representation from the provinces.

read more : http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/28/hec-devolution.html

Disbandment under 18th Amendment HEC director, VCs come together

Disbandment under 18th Amendment HEC director, VCs come together

Dr Attaur Rehman has criticised HEC's devolution to provinces

ISLAMABAD, March 25: A former chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and incumbent president of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Dr Attaur Rehman has criticised the government`s decision to devolve the commission to the provinces.

Source:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/26/hecs-devolution-to-provinces-opposed.html

Send your Views/ Articles/ Comments at following addresses: