Owing to unavailability of funds, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has closed down a wing meant for looking after projects that were to be implemented with the help of foreign support, an official in the commission said on Sunday.
The Federal Co-ordinating Unit headed by Javed Masood was established at the HEC to supervise the work for speedy completion of the projects regarding setting up engineering universities with support of the foreign countries including Germany, China, Italy and Austria.
An official in the commission said that the federal cabinet on May 12 last year, approved the project for establishing these universities at a total cost of Rs160 billion. However, due to current economic meltdown, it was not possible to materialise the project, which led to closure of the unit in question, the official added.
The official said that the HEC had specified areas for constructing university campuses and had already made temporary arrangements for holding classes. The project was to be completed in phases in 10 years, the official added.
Under the scheme, the source said curriculum and examination system of these universities, were to be managed by the foreign countries. However, the official said that the HEC was giving priority to provide funds to those 7,000 PhD students, who are studying abroad and as well in the county. They said that the government has also set up a four-member committee to review all the HEC projects.