The establishment of Higher Education Commission (HEC) has led to over 347 developmental projects of which 123 have been successfully completed.
According to official sources, these initiatives include scholarships for PhD and Masters Degrees locally and abroad, revamping of universities through capacity building and infrastructural developments, libraries and examination systems.
One of the major projects of HEC include the recent agreement of establishing six new engineering universities and three technology universities in collaboration with Germany, Austria, France, The Netherlands, Korea, China, Sweden, Japan and Italy. These universities are going to be funded by the Government of Pakistan and jointly staffed and administered by the above countries.
A new Federal Law University is also being established in Islamabad with campuses in each province. Through its Digital Library Programme, HEC has provided universities and other local institutes with access to thousands of journals and libraries world-wide.
In order to create job opportunities for the youth, government has introduced technical education in 1,100 secondary schools. Courses will be supplemented by micro-credit provision and designed in consultation with the local industry and demand trends. During 2005-06, technical education stream has been introduced in 200 secondary schools, sources mentioned.
Sources stated that the existing education management information system is being strengthened across the board with the help of Unesco. A comprehensive programme for a national census of all educational institutions has been developed with the help of a donor agency. National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) is being set up in the federal ministry of education to provide accurate and comprehensive data on regular basis. Control of educational services at school and college has been devolved to the district level.
In order to develop competencies and skills of teachers, government has established Teaching Resource Centers (TRCs) at the district and tehsil levels. In MTDF, source said that the government has proposed to raise the minimum level of qualification for school teachers from matriculate to a graduate.
National Education Assessment System (Neas) has been set up to assess learning achievements of the students at primary and elementary levels. Academic audits are being linked with cash awards and incentives are being given for making quality up to the mark. The number of teachers is also being increased to meet the increasing demand in the schools. Relevance is being ensured through review of curriculum after every five years and streamlining the courses with the market demand.
Presently, official sources admitted that the status of higher education is also quite dismal. The enrolment rate is 2.9 percent, which is one of the lowest in the world.
However following the education reforms of 2003, focus on higher education has been increasing tremendously. This can be substantiated by the remarkable growth of 126 percent in resource allocation for higher (extra space) education. Setting up of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been a strategic move by the government that has made a difference through its projects, and capacity building based measures.
However considering the overall education status of the country, an overwhelming allocation of funds (49 percent of total federal budget) from the education budget to HEC has created an imbalance with other sections of the education system that are receiving lesser funds. Government needs to ensure a balance budget at all levels of the education system. In terms of MDG on education, while Pakistan has made considerable gains during the last five years, meeting the target will require increased focus on education.