Naib Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmad has expressed his serious concern over the proposed devolution of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). According to Professor Khurshid the 18th Constitutional Amendment deserves to be interpreted in a more realistic manner and the provision for educational standard made in Part 2 of the Federal List provides grounds for maintenance of critically important institutions like the HEC in the Federation.
"The issue of education is too important to be handled in an emotional or parochial manner. It is extremely important that the nation should have harmonious, well-co-ordinated education system for the whole country. Federation and Provinces should by mutual agreement prepare an integrated programme through which the Center and the Provinces could play their respective role in fulfilling the constitutional obligations of right to education as established under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, "he emphasised.
Professor Khurshid said that HEC is an important institution and has rendered valuable services during the last few years in promoting higher education, facilitating research and preparing a strategic plan for education and training of a cadre of PhDs who can contribute towards raising the level of education in the country, so it must not be dissected in a haste.
"It is time to straight the record by saying that he, S M Zafar and Dr Ahsan Iqbal, raised important questions on this issue, in the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms, and it is unfortunate that some of those, who are now clamouring on this issue did not support efforts that we made to have education policy, curriculum, and quality education under the joint guidance of Federation and Provinces through the Council of Common Interest", he stressed.-PR