HEC and the 18th

Amendment

UNIVERSITIES BUILDING
PAKISTAN

1 March 30, 2011

 PREAMBLE

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is an autonomous organization

whose mission is “to facilitate institutions of higher learning to serve as an
engine of socio-economic development of Pakistan”.

The HEC is not attached to the Ministry of Education. The Prime Minister is
the Controlling Authority of the HEC.

The 18th Amendment through the 4th Schedule (Article 70(4) Federal
Legislative Lists Part-I and Part-II) fully supports the current powers and
functions of the HEC, and includes higher education and research as federal
subjects.

HEC is a role model federal organization which empowers equal and full
participation of all provinces and universities in higher education policy
making for national development. In most federations around the world,
higher education is a federal subject with provinces also having a say.

HEC through the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) 2011-2015

is creating the knowledge capital and technology required to enable Pakistan
to join the ranks of the industrially advanced countries within the next
decade.

For national integration and prosperity, it is essential that HEC must continue
to perform its functions which it has successfully done so for the last 8 years.

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HEC and the 18th Amendment
 18th Amendment fully supports the current powers and functions of the
HEC so it is essential that HEC is retained as a Federal organization in the
strategic interest of Pakistan.

 The Provinces already have a strong and forceful voice in the

Commission governing the HEC which consists of 18 members including a
representative from each Province and two Federal Secretaries. The other
experts nominated by the Prime Minister are also chosen to reflect a
Provincial balance. The Provinces and universities are full participants and
decision makers in the development and implementation of all plans and
policies for promotion of HE in the country

 The 18th Amendment contains the following specific provisions

regarding the function of HEC as a Federal body

 Fourth Schedule [Article 70(4)]: Federal Legislative List Part I

 Item # 16: Federal agencies and institutes for the

following purposes, that is to say, for research, for professional or
technical training, or for the promotion of special studies.

 Item # 17: Education as respects Pakistani students

in foreign countries and foreign students in Pakistan

 Item # 32: International treaties, conventions and

agreements and International arbitration

 Fourth Schedule [Article 70(4)]: Federal Legislative List Part II

 Item 6: All regulatory authorities established under a

Federal law

 Item 7: National planning and national economic

coordination including planning and coordination of scientific and
technological research.

 Item 11: Legal, medical and other professions

 Item 12: Standards in institutions for higher

education and research, scientific and technical institutions.

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  Item 13: Inter-provincial matters and co-ordination

 The HEC position paper on the 18th Amendment and its applicability to
the HEC is given in Annexure A.

Higher Education and National Development

• Pakistan is strategically located at the cross roads of South Asia,
Central Asia and West Asia. It is at the mouth of oil rich Persian and
Arabian Gulf, and lies close to two superpowers in the North, and an
aspiring power in the East, with whom it has shared a tumultuous history
for thousands of years.
• It is a country blessed with natural resources. It needs to develop its
natural and human resources, both of which it is endowed with
abundance, and join the ranks of developed industrially advanced,
prosperous nations within the next decade
• Pakistan needs to develop critical technology for industrialization,
economic growth, energy growth, to explore, map and mine natural
resources, including Coal at Thar, Gold at Riko Deq, Copper at Saindaik,
Gas at Qadirpur, and others yet to be explored. Pakistan needs
technology for Information and Communication Technologies; to drive its
own high tech manufacturing industry; for transportation and avionics; for
weather predictions so disasters like floods and tsunami are forecast and
for health, agriculture, natural and applied sciences among other.
• Pakistan needs technology to continue to protect its national assets
and defend its borders. Flanked by a hostile neighbor ten times its size, it
has no choice but to be at least ten times smarter and efficient in the
utilization of its resources. Even if it had the financial resources, it is a
known fact that money cannot buy everything, especially where strategic
interests are concerned.
• Where is Pakistan today in terms of its Science and Technology (S & T)
workforce, its research, its technology readiness, and transfer of
technology to the industry? The total S&T workforce in Pakistan is around
130,000. Out of this, the total number of Researchers & Scientists is
53,000, but only 10% (about 5300) hold PhD degrees. 80% of these PhDs
(about 4000) are in Higher Education Institutions governed by the HEC.

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 Of the total 53,000 Researchers & Scientists in Pakistan, 24% are in SS
and Humanities; 24% in Natural Sciences; only 18% in Engineering; 16%
in Medicine and 14% in Agriculture.
• There are currently over 7500 HEC funded scholars pursuing their
Ph.Ds in local and foreign universities. This will triple the number of Ph.D
faculty at the universities within the next five years.
• If we compare the worldwide densities of scientists & researchers,
Pakistan has only 162 researchers and scientists / million population
(which is among the lowest in the region), Turkey has 562, China 926,
South Korea 4162 and USA 4651. Clearly, Pakistan needs a much larger
science and technology workforce, and research in critical areas. We need
to increase the number of scientific and research personnel by at least 4
times in the next 10 years if we are to become a regional leader.
A Revolution in Higher Education in Pakistan
• The establishment of the HEC in 2002 has heralded a revolution in
higher education in Pakistan, especially in the fields of Engineering,
Science and Technology. The HEC has accomplished more in eight years
since its establishment than was achieved in the first 55 years of
Pakistan’s existence. It is essential that this growth should continue for
the next decade at least if Pakistan is to become an industrially advanced
country.

• Pakistan has invested more than Rs. 97 Billion for the development of
the universities since the formation of HEC; a twelvefold increase over the
Rs. 7.5 Billion spent in the 1978-2002 period of the University Grants
Commission.

• Engineering, Information Technology, Basic Sciences and Agriculture

have received the greatest investment by the HEC. Project worth more
than Rs. 35 Billion have been approved for support of Engineering
Universities, more than a 1,000 Foreign PhD scholarships have been
awarded in Engineering along with more than 500 Indigenous PhD
scholarships.

• The Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN) is one of the

most sophisticated computer networks in the world linking all universities
through a 10GB backbone and 1GB connectivity to universities. It is now
expanding to link colleges as well. Video-Conferencing Equipment is
operational in 74 Institutions and expanding rapidly. The Digital Library

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provides access to 75% of the World’s literature (23,000 ejournals and
45,000 ebooks). Pakistan today is a regional leader in ICTs which other
countries are following.

• In terms of Technology Readiness, HEC has provided state of the art

high-tech equipment (e.g. Accelerators, SEMs, Vapour Deposition Units,
Powder Metallurgy Labs, etc.) to HEIs, and Equipment Sharing Programs
Grants for Research, for Travel Conferences, for holding of Conferences,
Seminars, Workshops, etc. Research partnerships are now in place
between universities in Pakistan and with other leading universities of the
world.

• HEC is focusing on development of critical technologies indcluding

Biotechnology and Genetics, Immunology, Robotics and Automation,
Nanotechnologies, Superconductivity, Computer Vision, Photo-optics and
Lasers, Electromagnetics and Microwaves and Nuclear Fusion for Energy,
etc. which are important for the strategic growth of Pakistan.

• Pak universities have produced more PhDs in the last 8 years (3280)
since the establishment of HEC than in the first 55 years (3000). Today we
produce 10 times more PhDs in Engineering and Technology than ever in
the past (140 in last 8 years, versus 14 in first 55 years). The universities
are now enabled to produce more PhDs in the next 3 years than in the
last 8 years.

• Research output has grown six-folds since 2002 (from 815 in 2002 to
5068 in 2010): 80% of these research publications are coming from HEIs.
Output has more than doubled just in the last 3 years and is expected to
double again in the next 3 years.

• Nearly 5,000 scholars from Pakistan have been facilitated to present

their research work in leading conferences of the world.

• Researchers from Pakistan have linkages with their counterparts in

every leading university of the world in the US, UK, China, Germany,
France, Australia, Korea, etc.

• For Technology Transfer to Industry, HEC is working on Development of

High-Tech Incubators. Those in the pipeline at the universities include at
UA Faisalabad, UET Peshawar, UET Lahore, NED, and NUST.

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• Three new Centers of Excellence, in Energy, Food Security, and Water
Resources, are under development in three leading universities assisted
by USAID.

• HEC has taken higher education to the masses through the

establishment of world-class academic facilities in 2nd and 3rd tier cities in
the heartland of Punjab, Sindh and KPK.

• The biggest investment (By share) has been in the KPK Province with
new universities being set up in Bannu, Kohat, Malakand, Swat, and
Mardan. The Kohat University of Science and Technology today publishes
more papers in the world’s leading journals, than many other universities
in Pakistan.

• In Balochistan, 4 new universities have been developed and made

operational, as compared to the 2 that existed in 2002. Projects for an
additional 2 have been approved for establishment in Loralai and Turbat.
57 PhD Scholars from the University of Balochistan are currently studying
in AIT Bangkok due to the linkage established by HEC.

• In Sindh, 3 new Universities and 4 Campuses in underdeveloped areas

are in various stages of development.

• The IT sector has seen a complete transformation in the education

system with the standardization of the 4-year undergraduate program
and the establishment of the Accreditation Council ensuring adherence to
international standards. This forms the backbone of the IT export
revolution occurring in Pakistan.

• The entire Bachelor(4-year), Master and PhD (3-tier) has been revised
to conform to world standards. According to NARIC, the UK agency for
equating foreign education documents, “We are of the opinion that this
previous system of education (Pre-HEC) was not only shorter than the
current system in Pakistan, but it did not emphasise subject specialisation
and independent research as much” A PhD from Univ. of Karachi granted
in 2007 was therefore recognized equivalent to MPhil. However, with the
new system of education, NARIC writes,” “Within the revised (Post-HEC)
Pakistani higher education system….we recognise all research degrees
(MPhil and PhD) to UK standard”

• According to Science Watch, January 2011 issue,(a prestigious

magazine published out of UK) research growth from Pakistan has ranked

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 1st in 2 areas: Microbiology; and Plant and Animal Sciences. But that is
not enough: Major research in priority areas and in Engineering and
Technology is required, which is slowly beginning to take over.

• Already, according to QS World Universities Rankings 2010, 2

Universities: NUST (274), and UET (281) are now in top 300 Technology
Universities of the World, while MUET is in top 400. We need to continue
to focus on adding quality in research and education to our other
universities as well.

• HEC has International Credibility with the World Bank approving a

US$100 Million Higher Education Support program in 2008. A new
US$300 Million Tertiary Education Support Program has been
approved on March 24th, 2011 contingent upon the HEC remaining
as is.

• USAID is finalizing a US$250 Million support to the HEC focusing on the

establishment of Centers of Excellence in Water, Energy and Agriculture.

Conclusion

• Pakistan’s scientists, engineers and technologists are its single biggest

strategic asset. Till five years ago, these were concentrated in a few
strategic organizations, however, the revolution in higher education
brought about by HEC has ensured that every engineering and science
and technology university has started to blossom into a center of research
and innovation. With thousands of PhD students abroad at the world’s
leading universities, the next few years will herald an unprecedented
revolution in Science and Technology in Pakistan.

• There already has been a ten-fold increase in PhD production in the

Engineering fields. With 1,500 more PhDs in Engineering alone set to join
the ranks in the next three year, an irreversible transformation in the
Engineering Sector, will occur in Pakistan.

• HEC has integrated Pakistan and broken the elitist myth of availability
of talent only in big cities. Pakistani scholars from little villages and
remote towns have taken the world by storm. This is especially true in our
neighbouring country which is now trying to create an HEC-like

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organization, and has announced a five-fold increase in the higher
education budget with tens of new IITs to be set up.

• The next 5 year strategy of HEC calls for Universities Building

Pakistan. It is important that this vision become a reality.

• In conclusion, HEC is the Role Model Federal Organization which

empowers equal and full participation of all universities and provinces to
facilitate higher education for the socio-economic development of
Pakistan.

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 Annexure A
18th Amendment & Higher Education

1. The passage of the 18th Amendment, amended Part-I of the Fourth

Schedule of the Constitution include the following:

a. Federal agencies and institutes for the following purposes, that is

to say, for research, for professional or technical training, or for
the promotion of special studies (Item No. 16).

b. Education as respects Pakistani students in foreign countries and

foreign students in Pakistan (Item No. 17).

c. International treaties, conventions and agreements and

International arbitration (Item No. 32).

The following key provisions are in Part II of the Federal Legislative List:

d. All regulatory authorities established under a Federal law (Item

6).

e. National planning and national economic coordination including

planning and coordination of scientific and technological
research (Item 7).

f. Legal, medical and other professions (Item 11).

g. Standards in institutions for higher education and research,

scientific and technical institutions (Item 12).

h. Inter-provincial matters and co-ordination (Item 13).

Each one of the above provisions is directly applicable to the Higher

Education Commission (HEC).

2. The further importance of Item 12 in Part II of the Federal Legislative List

(Standards in institutions for higher education and research, scientific
and technical institutions) is that it is a brand new entry inserted by the
18th Amendment to the Constitution. In other words, prior to the 18th
Amendment, there was no express entry dealing with higher education.
Instead, Item 38 of the Concurrent Legislative List only dealt generally

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 with “Curriculum, syllabus, planning, policy, centres of excellence and
standards of education.” The insertion of Item 12 into Part II of the
Federal Legislative List thus marks a deliberate decision by the
Constitutional Reform Committee on the 18th Amendment that while
primary and education issues could be dealt with by the Provinces, the
issues relating to higher education were such that they necessarily had
to be dealt with at a higher level. Also, the inclusion of Item 16 in Part-I
of the Federal Legislative List (Federal agencies and institutes for the
following purposes, that is to say, for research, for professional or
technical training, or for the promotion of special studies) emphases the
need to retain Federal institutes for research and professional training at
the Center. It may also be noted in this context, that even prior to the
HEC Ordinance, issues relating to higher education were being dealt
with by the University Grants Commission, a federal body created by a
federal statute (the University Grants Commission Act, 1974). Higher
education and research has therefore always been dealt with as a
federal subject and it is for this reason that Item 12 (List II) and Item 16
(List I) were expressly added to the Federal Legislative List.

3. HEC is a regulatory authority created by the Higher Education

Commission Ordinance, 2002 (which is a Federal law). It is therefore
covered by Item 6 of Part II of the Federal Legislative List.

4. The ambit of HEC is defined by Section 10 of the HEC Ordinance, 2002.

Sub-section 1 of Section 10 gives details of the various functions the
HEC may perform “for the evaluation, improvement and
promotion of higher education, research and development.”
These enumerated powers and functions provide in considerable detail
all the ways in which the HEC may encourage and promote “higher
education, research and development.” In particular:

• clause (c) of clause 10(1) requires the HEC to “prepare . . . plans

for the development of higher education”

• clause (k) directs the HEC to “support the development of

linkages between Institutions and industry as well as national
and international organizations that fund research and
development with a view to enhancing research”

• clause (l) requires the HEC to “promote the study of basic and
applied sciences in every field of national and international
importance in the Institutions”

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 • clause (t) requires the HEC to “promote formal links between
Institutions to make the most effective use of experience and
specialized equipment and promote national and international
linkages with respect to knowledge sharing, collaborative
research, personnel exchange and cost sharing.”

In light of the foregoing, it is clear that the functions of HEC as defined

under the HEC Ordinance clearly relate to activities squarely falling
within the ambit of Item 7 of Part II of the Federal Legislative List.

5. Item 11 of Part II of the Federal Legislative List deals with “Legal,

medical and other professions.” Once again, the establishment of
standards in relations to professions (other than those covered by
specific separate legislation) falls within the ambit of the HEC. Clause (e)
of Section 10(1) of the HEC Ordinance thus requires the HEC to “set up
national or regional evaluation councils . . . to carry out accreditation of
Institutions.” Similarly, clause (v) provides that the HEC shall “guide
Institutions in designing curricula that provides a proper content of basic
sciences, social sciences, humanities, engineering and technology in the
curricula of each level.” The Higher Education Commission is thus
responsible for standards of higher education and research in the
Universities in all disciplines including the professional disciplines of
Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Information Technology,
Architecture, etc. The HEC is in fact the regulatory body for higher
education in the country since it prescribes conditions under which
universities are opened and operated and also has ultimate authority for
recognition of degrees, diplomas, certificates etc. issued by the
Universities. Thus, the activities of HEC as per the HEC Ordinance also
relate to Item 11 of Part II of the Federal Legislative List.

6. The most emphatic provision regarding the essential federal nature of

HEC’s activities is, however, Item 12 of Part II which covers “Standards
in institutions for higher education and research, scientific and
technical institutions.” As can be gathered from even a brief view of
the functions and powers of HEC as encapsulated in Section 10 of the
HEC Ordinance, the determination of standards in higher education is
the very core of the responsibilities of the HEC. The mandate of the HEC
is thus directly and specifically covered by Item 12 of part II of the
Federal Legislative List.

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7. Item 13 of Part II of the Federal Legislative List deals with “Inter-
provincial matters and co-ordination.” In this context, it is evident
that regulation of higher education necessarily requires inter-provincial
co-ordination. The subject of higher education has close, deep and
multidimensional links to i) National Policy and Planning, ii) Economic
Growth, iii) Scientific & Technical Research, iv) Defense Production, v)
Industrial Growth and the vi) National Innovation System. Higher
Education is not a subject that is confined to national boundaries since it
is imperative to have international recognition of degrees for which
adherence to International Quality Assurance Benchmarks is a necessity.

8. Item 17 of Part I of the Federal Legislative List deals with “Education as

respects Pakistani students in foreign countries and foreign students in
Pakistan.” In this regard, Section 10(1) of the HEC Ordinance expressly
authorizes the HEC in a number of different ways. For example, clause
(r) of Section 10(1) provides that the HEC shall “take measures,
including the allocation of funds, for the establishment of fellowships,
scholarships, visiting professorships programmes or any other
programme . . . and facilitate greater mobility of faculty through
national and international contacts.” It is furtherance of this provision
that more than 4,000 Pakistani students are currently receiving PhD
scholarships in leading universities abroad.

9. Higher Education is a precious and rare commodity and it is crucial that

all resources, expertise and assets be shared among the higher
education institutions as well as with Industry across the country. There
exists an essential requirement for Inter-provincial coordination for
provision of services that can optimally and cost-effectively be provided
at the central level. These facilities are being provided by HEC through
programs such as i) National Research Program for Universities in-line
with the national research agenda, ii) National Program for Provision of
Digital Resources such as the research network, digital library, research
repository, video conferencing, etc., iii) National Scholarship Linkage
Program with advanced foreign countries for faculty development, iv)
Learning Innovation Program for faculty pedagogical training, v) National
Curriculum Development Program for standardized curriculum and
academic system development, vi) National Quality Enhancement
Program for ensuring stringent adherence to local and foreign quality
standards which are pre-requisites for degree recognition, vii) National
Research Linkage Program for linking university research to industry.

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10. It is in recognition of the good work being done by HEC that the
universities themselves support a strong federal role for the HEC. In
particular, all the Vice Chancellors of public sector universities located in
all the provinces of the country in a meeting held on November 27,
2010, unanimously resolved that HEC functionality should not be
changed and the status quo should be maintained.

11. In yet another meeting of all Vice-Chancellors held on March 26, 2011, it
was resolved that “the HEC must continue to perform all its function in
the same manner as it has been doing to date”.

12. It may finally be noted that the establishment of the HEC has not only
revolutionized higher education in Pakistan and has been recognized
internationally for the transformation it has produced in Pakistani
universities. In fact, India has explicitly modeled its future higher
education strategy, with a five-fold increase in funding for higher
education, on the strategy developed by HEC. India, which still has a
UGC, is also working on establishing an organization similar to the HEC.
It would be ironic indeed if the role of HEC was to be completely negated
at a time when it is being accepted international as a role model and
pioneer.

13. In most Federations around the world, higher education is a federal

subject with provinces also having a say. UK has a Minister of
Universities and Science. Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, South Korea, UAE
etc. all have Ministers of Higher Education. Education is a Federal
Subject in China as well.

14. HEC’s achievement are many. In the last 8 years, it has established 90
additional campuses/new universities, including those in far-flung places
such as Lasbela, Uthal, D.G. Khan, Malakand, etc. Campus enrollment
has tripled from 222,000 to 529,000. 10,000 HEC Scholarships have
been provided to needy students. A student loan program is currently
under development.

15. Today researchers from the Kohat University of Science and

Technology publishes more papers in the world’s leading research
journals than many local universities established decades ago, the
University of Gujrat boast the best Industrial Design department in
Pakistan, The Karakoram International University, Gilgit hosts the
Rector of the University of Bonn Germany to study climate change,

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 Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur works with Egyptian
biotechnologists for propagation of date palms while researchers at the
Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences is
pioneering shrimp farming on the Balochistan Coast. These are some
glimpses into the accomplishments of the universities that have been
established during the past eight years only, while those that existed
before have gone on to join the ranks of the premier science and
technology universities of the world, such as the National University
of Science and Technology, ranked number 274 in the World in
2010, while the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore
is ranked 281 by QS World University Rankings. From the Australian
National University in Canberra, Australia to Cambridge University in the
UK, just about every leading university in the world has close academic
and research linkages with top Pakistani universities.

16. The Government of Pakistan’s investment in the higher education sector

is paying off now, and with the theme of Universities Building
Pakistan envisioned in the HEC Medium Term Development Framework
for Pakistan 2011-15, Institutions of higher learning all across Pakistan
will play a leadership and transformation role for the socio-economic
development of the country over the next decade. A strong and vibrant
HEC is necessary for the continued progress of higher education in
Pakistan.

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