Allocation in budget for HEC not enough to meet WB targets

Allocation in budget for HEC not enough to meet WB targets
Islamabad, May 16: The allocation of Rs14 billion in the 2011-12 budget for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is less than what has been committed to the World Bank (WB) in order to get the loan of $300 million, which increases the chances of reduction in the amount of loan.

According to well-placed sources, it has been clearly mentioned in the agreement between the government of Pakistan (GoP) and WB that a minimum allocation of Rs16.5 billion would be made in the development budget of the HEC. "The document clearly states that a minimum amount of Rs16.5 billion would be made for the development of higher education sector, which is Rs2.5 billion less than what has been approved by the Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC)," sources revealed.

Sources believe that the targets set by the WB are unlikely to be met by the HEC in the current budget, which might reduce the amount of the WB loan. The targets, which have been set by the WB, include increase in the number of scholarships, increase in the number of publications, easy accessibility to academic institutions and improvement in quality of education and also increase in the number of tenure track teachers.

However the HEC seems unable to meet all these targets with the minimal allocation of Rs589.319 million for new projects. It is pertinent to mention that there has not been any increase in the number of scholarships, number of publications or number of tenure track teachers in the forthcoming budget. "The officials of WB would visit Pakistan in a few days after which they would decide if the amount of the loan would remain the same or reduced in the given circumstances," sources revealed.

The loan, which has been committed by the WB, is called International Development Association (IDA), which is given to the poorest and most sought after by many developing countries. For the tertiary education project, $110 million of the IDA credit would carry a 0.75 per cent service charge fee, maximum commitment charges at 0.5 per cent, a 10-year grace period, and maturity of 35 years. It is not for the first time that HEC has been granted loan by WB, but one year ago, World Bank has given a soft loan of $100 million to the government of Pakistan for the progress of higher education sector. Keeping in view the utilisation of money of previous loan, WB has once again granted the loan with the conditions to meet various targets.

It is also pertinent to mention here that a total of Rs40 billion, including both the recurring and development budget, has been allocated for HEC, which is at least Rs8 billion less than what has been required to meet the expanses.

HEC Chairman Javaid Laghari said that the amount allocated for the HEC was not enough to meet the targets set by the WB. "We are hopeful that the government would revisit the allocation and increase the amount in order to get benefited from the WB loan," he said.

He confirmed that the officials of the WB would visit Pakistan and there were chances for reduction in the loan amount.