Annual Report Annual Report
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AnnualAnnual ReportReport 2011-122011-12 HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION - PAKISTAN Annual Report 2011-12 Table of Contents Chairperson’s MessAge i Executive summAry ii Members of the commission iv Human Resource Development 1 Research and DEVELOPMENT 79 Academics 111 Quality Assurance 131 Statistics 141 Information Technology 155 Sports 177 Finance 191 Monitoring And Evaluation 203 Administration and Coordination 209 Attestation and Accreditation 215 HEC Annual Report 2011-12 Chairperson’s Message The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has continued to focus on faculty and human resource development, quality education, technology readiness, research and innovation despite availability of limited resources and cuts in funding. Under the leadership of HEC, the universities have assumed their new roles as producers of knowledge and research, and builders of community and economy. Improvement in the quality of academic standards and research has been the top priority of HEC. For this purpose, a multi-dimensional approach has been adopted which includes, among others, defining goals and establishing processes, training of faculty and senior management, improvement of internal performance and evaluation mechanisms, curriculum development, accreditation of programmes, and implementation of quality standards. Universities were ranked for the first time as per global standards to inculcate a spirit of competiveness and improve quality. A major target as per Education Policy 2008 is the increase in accessibility to higher education. For this purpose, in addition to establishing new universities and campuses, HEC is focusing on improving quality of distance learning students through improved monitoring mechanisms. The criteria for private universities have been enhanced to improve quality, with a simultaneous clampdown on sub-standard universities and programmes. Sustained and comprehensive faculty development programmes have been managed to cater to the growing needs of the universities and R&D organizations in Pakistan by awarding PhD scholarships in local and foreign universities. The number of faculty with PhD degree has increased considerably in the higher education institutions and with a significant growth in research culture, there has been an impressive increase in the number of research publications. Meaningful research relevant to the socio-economic development of Pakistan is now being conducted at all our universities, and a spirit of entrepreneurship has been introduced. There has been a focus on technology transfer programmes, particularly through ORICS, Incubators, and Conferences and with the participation of the local industry. The institutions of higher learning have been empowered with a strong ICT infrastructure within campuses, and interconnected through a high speed backbone of Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN). There has been a significant increase in the use of digital library. Lectures continue to be offered and shared through the state-of-the-art video-conferencing facilities available at all public universities. With the massive increase in MOOCs, an on-line policy is currently under development to take advantage of such knowledge exchange programmes through the use of technology. The Commission has put a special emphasis on good governance, as there can be no quality in institutions without good leadership. HEC has taken measures on several fronts to tackle governance and management issues in HEIs, which aim to instil a culture of accountability, clarify administrative procedure and strengthen management performance. Capacity building initiatives include, among others, a two day orientation workshop for all newly appointed Vice Chancellors. We are thankful to our partners, particularly the USAID and the British Council, and to many other global partners and universities who have provided us the support to strengthen our higher education sector. We have finally started getting return of our investment on higher education. A significant human resource has been developed and processes and systems have gained strength. All stakeholders, including the Government, must move forward to further strengthen this institution for the youth, for the betterment of future generations, and for the prosperity of Pakistan. Dr. Javaid R. Laghari i HEC Annual Report 2011-12 Executive Summary The efforts made by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) during the last 10 years have revolutionized the higher education sector of Pakistan. The Commission has adopted a wholesome approach for development through research, ranging from personal development to strengthening of universities, development of research incubators, capacity development of human resource, exposure of faculty and researchers to international academia, establishing university-to-university linkages to name a few. As a result, research activities have increased manifold in both public and private sector universities and research output in international impact factor journals has increased tremendously. Now is the time that a special emphasis be given so that this research corresponds with economic and social needs of the country. HEC has started facilitating universities to organize all research activities under the Offices of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC). During 2011-12, HEC has established ORIC at 18 institutions across the country. Trainings for selected members of ORIC were conducted on Knowledge Exchange programmes. In order to encourage research culture in the country, HEC has recognized 193 research journals, including 106 in Social Sciences, 81 in Sciences and six in multi-disciplinary category. Various scholarship schemes launched for MS and PhD level studies within Pakistan and abroad have provided amazing opportunities to faculty members as well as fresh students to pursue their higher studies in top-notch institutions and prepare themselves to effectively contribute for strengthening the higher education sector. Out of over 6000 scholars sent abroad/financed under various programmes for MS, PhD, Post-Doc research, nearly 3000 have successfully completed their studies and returned to Pakistan. During the year under review, as many as 730 scholars completed their studies and returned to serve their country. Similarly, around 200 scholars completed their studies from local institutions of higher education while total number of indigenous scholars completing their studies exceeds 1000. Various need based scholarship programmes were also initiated to facilitate our youth to complete their higher studies in local universities especially for those students coming from less developed areas. During 2011-12, HEC invested Rs. 1,379 million for the promotion of research and related activities. The major portion of this funding was utilized to support research proposals of the faculty to execute research activities in basic and applied disciplines through National Research Programme for Universities and access to scientific information through Digital Library Programme. During the year, 513 new research proposals from university faculty were received out of which 134 proposals were approved for funding after rigorous peer-review and technical evaluation. Over 843 faculty members and scholars were provided travel grants to proceed abroad for paper presentation. In 2011-12, Rs. 128.024 million were provided as travel grant support. Similarly, during this period 131 seminars, conferences, symposia and workshops were sponsored with the support of Rs. 66.347 million. Under Learning Innovation initiative, faculty members from public and HEC funded private sector HEIs across Pakistan were given short and long term training courses, seminars and workshops in generic and specified areas under NAHE and ELTR projects. ii HEC Annual Report 2011-12 HEC emphasizes the establishment of Business Incubation Centres (BIC) in public sector universities to support researchers and young entrepreneurs who intend to develop promising early-stage business ventures. During the year, two BICs were established at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore and Sukkur Institute of Business Administration. Extensive trainings on knowledge exchange and business plan competition has been conducted. A steering Committee on BICs has been established to revamp the role of BICs in entrepreneurship development. Quality Assurance Programme of the HEC has been developed with the aim to assure and enhance the quality of higher education being imparted so that Pakistani HEIs are equally compatible with international standards. The QA criteria development was the first milestone achieved by the Quality Assurance Division of HEC by developing Minimum Criteria for MPhil and PhD, Faculty Appointment Criteria, Plagiarism Policy, Tenure Track Statutes, QA Criteria for Recognition of Journals etc. These criteria are the benchmarks to be followed by all HEIs in Pakistan. The internal quality assurance processes within universities are being strengthened by Quality Assurance Agency through the Quality Enhancement Cells that are presently functioning in 69 public and 15 private sector universities of the country. Similarly, four Councils established by HEC, namely National Agriculture Education Accreditation Council (NAEAC), National Council for Teacher Education (NACTE), National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC) and National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC) continue to make progress towards assigning rating to programmes through peer-review