HEC Devolution: A Signpost to Chaos

 

HEC has always been a great contributor towards spread of knowledge and refinement and advancement of education in HEIs. There are a number of scholars we find around ourselves in our institutions who are direct beneficiaries of  HEC's efforts to empower the faculty with knowledge . Many of our fellows are studying abroad in highly reputable universities and are preparing themselves for fighting the battle against the ills of higher education and that is being made possible only by HEC. A number of university faculty is being trained to make the HEIs strong and capable enough to create an educated leadership who is not only equipped with modern knowledge but also possess sincerity and honesty to the nation.

 

HEC's another great achievement is its Learning Innovation Division which has made it possible to capacitate the HEI's faculty gradually by providing them with training through their continuous Faculty Professional Development Program organized in different areas of Pakistan.  The result of these trainings are definitely  more competent , skilled and devoted faculty who in turn help achieve the mission of higher education i.e. to create an educated leadership capable enough to take Pakistan to the way of progress and prosperity. The most highlighted party of this training is its multiplied effect since the trainees are required to cascade the training further at their institutions.

 

LID, HEC recently organized a training program for a group of 23 lecturers and managers of HEIs from all over Pakistan at Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. I was one of the participants of this training. The participants for this course were selected mainly on the basis of their achievements in the areas of organizing and coordination training programs, workshops or seminar. I along with the rest of the participants experienced a highly intense training from renowned scholars and experts in the area of Training Management and Evaluation in Bangkok. The purpose of the training was to empower the participants with the skills required for conducting, organizing and evaluating successful training programs in Pakistani HEIs'. The areas covered for this were Training Need Analysis, significance and application of ADDIE model, training design, training materials, training implementation and training evaluation. In other words the aim of the program was to prepare 23 good trainers for the faculty of Pakistani HEI's. The training, no doubt, gave us, the participants, a lot of motivation and skills to make the dream of HEC (well-trained faculty to create an educated leadership for Pakistan) come true.

 

BUT!!!

 

Where are we going to? The devolution of HEC!!! So much investment in terms of money, energy going wasted? The resultant de-motivation in the faculty specially the trainees of the above mentioned course and many others like this? Loss of the aim of higher education- quality leadership?

 

 

The picture I can see is bleak. The devolution of HEC means no quality leadership. It is leading to a chaos which would destroy our nation, our country (God forbid).

 

I, on behalf of the participants of Ensuring Training Effectiveness specifically and the Pakistani nation in general, appeal to the government to please stop devolution of HEC to save the future of Pakistan.