Jamaat-e-Islami Chief, Syed Munawar Hasan has said the devolution of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) would be government's anti-education step. He condemned the government's move saying the HEC was in fact being punished for pointing to the fake degrees of the politicians. He added that there was no provision in the 18th constitutional amendment that required the breaking up of national institutions like the HEC.
Enumerating the achievements of the HEC, Syed Munawar Hasan said the HEC had upgraded the education standard in the country to international level and facilitated education of thousands of talented Pakistani youth in the top most universities in the world. The HEC's services for improvement of the educational system at the federal level were commendable which brought the Pakistani nation at par with the developed nations in the field of education, he said.
The JI chief said that with HEC's dissolution, thousands of Pakistani students obtaining PhD degrees abroad would not return to the country and would prefer to work in other countries which would obstruct the advancement of education in the country and darken the future of brilliant students. He said that the rulers were bent upon ruining the country for their personal gains and there was a conspiracy to undo the federation and undermine national integration under the cover of devolution of powers to the provinces.
He said, with devolution of the HEC, the universities and educational institutions would be reduced to regional entities and regional prejudices would increase and the provinces would not be able to maintain the higher standard that had been achieved by the HEC within a few years. Political interference in the universities would increase and these would be left at the mercy of the vaderas, capitalists and feudal lords.
Corruption and nepotism would increase further, the doors of education would be closed to the poor students and merit would get no consideration. He said the need of the hour was that the HEC grant was increased to enable it further improve its performance. He called for immediate release of scholarships for the students studying abroad.