National Assembly Standing Committee on Education, on education visits Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat, Islamabad

Islamabad (PPI): A meeting of the Sub-Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education, Training and Standards in Higher Education was held at Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat, Islamabad on Thursday. The Members of the Sub-Committee included Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, Ch. Hamid Hameed, Ms. Shaista Pervaiz and Ms. Shahida Rehmani. Engr. Syed Imtiaz Gilani, Chairman HEC, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Executive Director HEC and senior management of the Commission were present on the occasion. The Chairman HEC welcomed the Members of the Sub-Committee and explained the importance of higher education sector for socio-economic development of the country. He stressed the need for provincial harmony and similar standards in all the provinces. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed gave an elaborate and detailed briefing on HEC mechanism for allocation of grants and scholarships to universities as well as other initiatives of the Commission. The Sub-Committee appreciated performance of HEC for overall development of higher education sector in the last decade, and vowed to support the ongoing programmes and future initiatives of HEC, and expressed their resolve in making a vibrant organization free from all financial shackles. Dr. Zulfiqar Bhatti said that HEC can play dynamic role in the national development and every effort will be made for further improvement of its functioning. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed informed the Committee about mechanism for allocation of grants and scholarships to universities. He said that 88% of the recurring grant is directly transferred to the universities while 10.7% grant is allocated for national level programmes while a mere 1.3% is allocated for HEC secretariat. He further explained that the grants directly given to the universities are categorized as 65% Base Grant, which is calculated on the basis of enrolment of students in BS, MS and PhD programmes and university\’s area of specialization, 20% Need Grant, based on impact of completed development projects, implementation of new initiatives, regional backwardness and income disparity compensation, and 15% Performance Grant on the basis of PhD faculty strength, research output, competitive research grants obtained, establishment of QEC, compliance with Commission\’s policies, and evaluation by professional bodies at national and international levels.

View the original article here