Steering Committee on Higher Education

Wide-Ranging Reform Package for Public Universities

The President of Pakistan and the Federal Cabinet approved the proposals of the Steering Committee on Higher Education for public university reform in August 2002. The Steering Committee had been appointed by the President of Pakistan in March to develop an implementation plan for the recommendations of the earlier Task Force on Improvement of Higher Education and the Study Group on Science and  Technology. The Committee, chaired by Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President, AKU, included eminent educators and vice chancellors of public universities, as well as leading scientists and professionals.

Presenting a review and analysis of the proposals of the Steering Committee on Higher Education are Dr. Ishrat Hussain (left), Governor, State Bank of Pakistan; Shamsh Kassim-Lakha (centre), President, AKU, and Chairman of the Committee; and Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Minister for Finance, Planning and Development, Government of Sindh.

The proposals include doubling annual Government allocation to public universities over the next three years to Rs. 8 billion (US$ 130 million) – with the President immediately authorising an additional Rs. 1 billion (US$ 16 million) to be allocated for universities from within the current budget; detailed guidelines for universities to enhance academic quality; and restructuring of governance and management systems through a model Ordinance.

The Task Force, co-chaired by Kassim-Lakha and Syed Babar Ali, Pro-Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), had earlier presented broad-based recommendations to "transform the country's institutions of higher education into world-class seats of learning, equipped to foster high quality education, scholarship and research to produce enlightened citizens with strong moral and ethical values to build a tolerant and pluralistic society." In parallel, the Study Group, led by the Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, had underlined the importance of higher education for knowledge-based economic growth.

Dr. Robert Baker, Provost, addresses the audience at a faculty assembly, Dr. Ishrat Hussain (sitting left), Governor of State Bank of Pakistan, and Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Minister for Finance, Planning and Development, Governor of Sindh, were keynote speakers. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President of AKU, is in the Centre.

Based on the recommendations of the Task Force and the Study Group, the Steering Committee presented an integrated package for the reform of public universities. Two members of the Steering Committee, Dr. Ishrat Husain, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, and Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Minister for Finance, Government of Sindh, discussed the highlights of the plan at an AKU faculty assembly in September.

Discussing a major feature of the Steering Committee plan, Dr. Shaikh outlined its financial aspects, saying "the reform…is about resource mobilisation." He noted that the plan aimed at drastically enhancing access to higher education through financial assistance to underprivileged students and a doubling of Government allocation to public universities within three years. An increase in faculty pay is an integral part of the plan, coupled with transparent performance assessments and a tenure track procedure. Dr. Shaikh linked the increases in funding to improved systems for absorbing that funding.

Dr. Husain, speaking on the occasion, noted that part of the enhanced "resource disbursement will be conditional on achievement of benchmarks of reform…We must bring in quality, outreach and access but link (these) to actual performance. Once the specific indicators are reached, universities can expect more funding." Dr. Husain also drew attention to the need to create an enabling environment conducive to academic quality, such as the one AKU was establishing through hard work and commitment. To encourage public sector universities in this regard, he noted that "We want to separate governance from management and lay down the boundaries between governance and effective management." Both Dr. Husain and Dr. Shaikh underscored the key role of Kassim-Lakha in coordinating the intensive effort. They also pointed out the importance of AKU and LUMS in guiding and providing indigenous models for academic quality as well as governance and management systems.

Speaking at the faculty assembly, Kassim-Lakha noted that the Steering Committee had provided critical input into the creation of the Higher Education Commission. Earlier, the Task Force had recommended that the regulatory University Grants Commission be abolished and a new, enabling Higher Education Commission be established. The Steering Committee was guided by this approach to advise the Government on creating a new body that could support reform at the public university level. Appreciating the Government's openness to reform, and President Pervez Musharraf's personal interest and leadership in the work of the Steering Committee, Kassim-Lakha emphasised that the Higher Education Commission could only support universities that wish to reform themselves. Past experience, he noted, has proven that universities themselves must be the focal point of reform, and he hoped that increased Government funding and support from the Higher Education Commission would allow this. The Higher Education Commission was also notified by the Government in August 2002, with Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman as its Chairman.