HEC to offer two-year degree program to increase employment opportunities

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is going to launch a two-year Associate Degree Program from next year to increase employment opportunities in the country. The Executive Director HEC Lt. Gen (retd) Muhammad Asghar revealed this news while speaking to the state-owned news agency APP.

He said that the commission is planning to initiate this program in some institutions next year and will gradually expand it to other universities as well. Lt. Gen (retd) Asghar further said that HEC aims to ensure employability among the students by giving them the proper training and adding the knowledge and skills in them as required by most companies.

The director also highlighted that the two-year Associate Degree Program will be started in institutions and academic places in Pakistan which are not currently offering four years BS degree programs.

The PTI-led government is making great efforts to bring positive changes in the education field and to increase employment opportunities in Pakistan. The government in their first budget ever allocated Rs. 28 Billion for the education sector and Rs. 951 billion for the federal public sector development budget.

The government has also announced a Tax rebate scheme for employers and companies hiring fresh graduates. The tax credit will benefit employers who will be hiring fresh graduates of HEC-approved universities and institutes. The tax rebate will be calculated with respect to the yearly incomes paid to the fresh graduates of the year 2017 and onwards.

Aside from the education department, the government is also focusing on the development of science and technology in Pakistan. The government recently announced that it is planning to establish a new University of Emerging Sciences at Prime Minister (PM) House with financial assistance from China. With the increased efforts by the government, it is highly expected that Pakistan will see a positive change in the education and job sector.