HEC being given Rs. 91 billion for promoting research and higher education

The government is releasing around Rs. 91 billion to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in order to promote and improve the state of research and higher education in the country.

In a recent session in the National Assembly, State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Balighur Rehman declared that the HEC is being this amount in order to assist them in their various activities. This is a particularly large sum of money as the government gave the HEC Rs. 42 billion and Rs. 41 billion in the previous two years.

He also spoke about the work being done by the HEC. He stated that 12,304 non-formal Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) were functional in all provinces and the FATA region, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The main aim behind BECS is to supplement formal education for out-of-school children and, in time, eradicate illiteracy.

Mr. Balighur Rehman also stated that the HEC has time and again developed and reviewed the curriculum for undergraduate and graduate programs are various Pakistani universities. So far, curricula for 120 disciplines has been developed and 308 have been revised. The entire curriculum is developed through the National Curriculum Review Committees (NCRC) which includes representatives from universities, civil society, and other concerned professionals.

While the HEC may be working hard to meet international standards, a recent survey has revealed that there is a severe academia-industry gap. While the students may be studying an impeccably designed curriculum at school they do not meet industry standards, as it has been found that 76.6% of employers are not satisfied with the quality of Pakistani graduates.

There is a dire need to provide students with proper career advice so that they can make the most of what they are being taught.

News Source – Tribune