Higher education

To really find out how a country is going to do in the 21st century, one need not count its oil reserves or natural resources but its highly effective teachers, committed students and dedicated researchers. Knowledge and skills have become the global currency of 21st century economies, and countries will have to decide how much they want to invest in higher education.

The higher education sector faces multiple challenges worldwide. However, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has kept abreast of all global developments and has taken measures to improve the quality and relevance of education and research at universities. It has made tremendous progress despite constraints in funding by the former government to curtail its autonomy.

The first challenge it faces is increasing equitable access to higher education. Enrolment in universities is now increasing at an average of 15-20 percent a year. This goes to show how starved our nation is for higher education. In the last 10 years, the number of HEC-recognised universities in Pakistan has increased from 98 to 146, while the enrolment has quadrupled from 276,000 to over a million.

Today there are universities, or their campuses, in all corners of Pakistan – from Lasbela to Shringal. However, despite an increase in the accessibility to higher education – from three percent to over eight percent – we are still significantly below other emerging economies like Malaysia and Turkey.

Growth is only possible if the government provides sustainable resources to the public sector and facilitation to the private sector. Otherwise, millions may not be able to achieve liberal education and a means to upward economic mobility in a country where half the population is below the age of 18, and 40 percent live below the poverty line. The goal of the present democratic government is to further increase the accessibility to higher education by 2020.

The second challenge is to improve the quality of education. Eighty-four quality enhancement cells (QECs) have already been established at universities (40 in the last two years alone), and another 60 will be established by the end of the current year. These will monitor the in-house quality as well as work with the QA Division at the HEC to effectively enhance quality at universities.

Institutional performance evaluations (IPEs) have been introduced in the last two years which will improve governance as well. The rating criteria for private universities have been considerably enhanced recently, and as a result, today there are no substandard universities in Pakistan.

Simultaneously, the criterion to establish new universities in the private sector has now been rationalised to enable more universities to be established for an increased equitable access without compromising on quality. The HEC is also working with the provincial governments to improve quality and relevance of education at the degree colleges as well.

Broad-bandwidth Internet connectivity is now available in 183 institutions, and is being expanded to over 600 colleges that are under provincial governments. State-of-the-art video-conferencing facilities are available at 79 universities, and over 2500 events have already taken place.

The HEC has ensured that a digital library and archives are available online to all students in Pakistan – with a database of over 10,000 e-journals, 65,000 e-books, and over 7000 PhD theses. Campus management solutions have already been implemented at eight universities with more to follow.

The third challenge is enhanced and relevant research. The number of PhD faculty and students in universities has more than doubled in the last four years alone. However, despite this increase, only 25 percent of the faculty have PhD degrees. The target is to increase it to over 40 percent by 2020. To reach that goal, another 10,000 PhDs will be required over the next five years.

Currently over 1000 PhDs are being awarded every year from Pakistani universities, from a low of 600 four years back. As a result of this increased capacity and quality, Pakistan has had a phenomenal increase in research over the last few years, producing over 6200 publications in 2011. According to SCImago research Pakistan’s research ranking globally will accelerate ahead from 43 to 27 by 2018 which is the second highest increase worldwide.

A spirit of outreach and entrepreneurship is also being inculcated in our universities. 26 offices of research, innovation and commercialisation (ORICs) and eight business and technology incubators have been established at our leading research universities in the last three years alone in order to bridge the gap between universities and the industry, while the first science and technology park is on the anvil. As a result of these initiatives, high technology exports from Pakistan may exceed $10 billion over the next five years.

At the World Economic Forum 2013, Pakistan’s score on the higher education indicator of the Global Competitiveness Index surged significantly ahead. According to Lancet, a well-known research journal, “HEC reforms have changed the culture of academia to one that has focused on research, quality and impact”. Six Pakistani universities now rank among the top 300 Asian universities in the world, where none existed a few years ago.

We have finally started to get a return on our investment in higher education. A significant human resource has been developed, knowledge capital has been created, and processes and systems have gained strength. All stakeholders, including the government, must now move forward collectively to further strengthen this institution.

The writer is chairman Higher Education Commission. Email: jlaghari@hec.gov.pk