PM reappoints Dr Mukhtar as HEC chairman after held responsible for ‘malaise’ by planning minister

ISLAMABAD: Less than a week after Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal held Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Mukhtar Ahmed responsible for HEC’s “malaise,” in his letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the PM reappointed Mukhtar Ahmed as HEC chief earlier this month.

“The current chairman has held key positions since 2004, making him the longest-serving head of such an organisation. Despite repeated extensions, the promised outcomes have not materialised, and he bears significant responsibility for the sector’s malaise,” read a letter from the planning minister to the PM.

The letter is dated this July 31 but it surfaced in the media only a couple of days back.

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“The recruitments to senior positions in HEC were made on nepotism. It is crucial to undertake higher education sector reforms, requiring the introduction of a fresh, experienced team with a bold vision and the courage to implement necessary changes,” Iqbal stated in the letter.

He stated that the incumbent chairman completed his second term (last month) –and was lobbying for extension. “In the interest of the future of our youth, you are requested to constitute a high-level search committee to identify and appoint a capable chairman and senior team members on merit, who can steer HEC towards a path of correction and reform higher education sector to provide Pakistan highest quality human resource,” the letter said.

However, this August 6, in alleged disregard to Ahsan Iqbal’s letter, PM Sharif notified the HEC chairman’s reappointment with effect from July 30.

The planning minister noted in his letter that the current administrative stalemate at HEC was primarily due to the incumbent senior management.

“Given the track record of the current senior HEC team, I am seriously concerned that the public funds allocated to HEC are at risk, and the urgency of our educational goals remains unmet— HEC has failed to implement effective quality control measures to enhance the employability of our graduates,” he said.

Numerous examples, he continued, of compromised HEC actions exist, such as unjust team- building processes and whimsical resource allocations.

“HEC has failed to conceive and implement strategic projects like the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor and University Performance Audits effectively. Targets remain unmet,” the minister added.

“The primary mandate and responsibility for ensuring high-quality higher education lie with the HEC. Unfortunately, the HEC has failed in achieving its objectives and has progressively worsened. This failure persists despite the generous grants it has received from the government (excepting the years 2018-2021) and the operational autonomy it enjoys,” Ahsan Iqbal wrote in the letter.

Over its more than 20 years of existence, the government and international partners have sponsored substantial public investments in higher education infrastructure, human resource and faculty development (scholarships, PhDs/Postdocs), accreditation, quality assurance (QAA), attestation services, and the National Research Program for Universities (NRPU), according to the minister.

Despite these efforts, HEC has failed to achieve its targets, he stated.

“Upon our administration coming to power in 2022, we re-enhanced funding for HEC. In 2023 alone, the development budget for HEC included 169 projects with a total cost of Rs 446 billion and a throw forward of Rs 314 billion. However, the restoration of resource allocation has not resulted in any visible improvements in the state of higher education,” read the planning minister’s letter.

Iqbal cited the FPSC (Federal Public Service Commission) findings indicating that at least 20,000 candidates attempted the written part of their exams, of whom only 393 candidates, or 1.94 percent, passed. The FPSC has been continually complaining about the falling standards of our education over several years, he noted.

Universities across the provinces suffer from a lack of resources, poor governance, and inadequate monitoring and evaluation, the letter stated. “Additionally, there is a clear federal and provincial disconnect in the higher education sector and among the research community. For instance, there are 28,000 Pakistani citizens enrolled in higher education institutions in China, yet we are clueless about meeting the HR and skills requirements for CPEC projects,” the letter added.

The minister urged the PM to take “prompt action to safeguard the future of higher education in Pakistan.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024