Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman says that the HEC is facing a mojor financial crisis much like the rest of the country. This is a serious setback to the recent progressions in the higher education in the country. He said that all new projects for this year have been frozen while work on previous projects is also being affected. A total of 85 new projects have been frozen. He added that the expenditure on each student has gone up by 30% owing to the recent inflation, increases in salaries and the devaluation of rupee. This effectively means a 30% cut in the budget of universities.

This is most certainly a serious blow to the PhD programs. My friend’s brother who has gone abroad on HEC scholarship is worried for the future of his scholarship and according to him, his funding is likely to stop due to the government’s lack of interest towards higher education.

Six foreign universities were chartered to open in Pakistan, and their future is also in doubt now.

What is disappointing to see is that this issue hardly gets any attention in the media. In fact, this should have been making headlines and featuring on talk shows.

ThaNation once published a related news article here.

Once again, hats off to DAWN News for interviewing the HEC Chairman and featuring this in the headlines of their news where other TV channels are making headlines with the London Fashion Week.

The HEC needs serious attention otherwise it can wither away just like the National Internship Program was scrapped.