Higher Education Commission (Pakistan)

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Higher Education Commission
ہائر ایجوکیشن کمیشن
Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (logo).jpg
Agency overview
Formed11 September 2002;21 years ago (2002-09-11)
Preceding
  • University Grants Commission
Jurisdiction Pakistan
Headquarters Islamabad-44000
33°40′N73°03′E / 33.67°N 73.05°E / 33.67; 73.05
MottoFacilitating Institutes of higher learning to serve as an Engine of Growth for the Socio-Economic Development of Pakistan
Annual budget ₨. 102.4 billion (2013–14) [1]
Agency executives
  • Mukhtar Ahmed, Chairman
  • Dr. Shaista Sohail [2] , Executive Director
Website hec.gov.pk

The Higher Education Commission (colloquially known as HEC) is a statutory body formed by the Government of Pakistan which was established in 2002 under the Chairmanship of Atta-ur-Rahman. Its main functions are funding, overseeing, regulating and accrediting the higher education institutions in the country.

Contents

It was first established in 1974 as University Grants Commission (UGC), and came into its modern form on 11 September 2002 after Atta-ur-Rahman's reforms, which received international praise. The commission is responsible for formulating higher education policy and quality assurance to meet the international standards as well as providing accrediting academic degrees, development of new institutions and uplift of existing institutions in Pakistan. [3]

The commission also facilitated the development of higher educational system in the country with the main purpose of upgrading the universities and degree awarding institutes in the country to be focal point of the high learning of education, research and development. Over several years, it has played an important and leading role towards building a knowledge-based economy in Pakistan by giving out hundreds of doctoral scholarships for education abroad every year. [4]

History

1947–1971: Genesis and development

Literacy rates since 1951-2009 Literacy Rate Pak.jpg
Literacy rates since 1951–2009

At the time of establishment of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, the country had only one institution of higher learning, University of the Punjab and among forty colleges expanded to four provinces of Pakistan. [5] Education policy revised by Prime Minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan, the government established various universities and colleges in all over the country. The same year, Mohammad Ali Jinnah held a National Education Conference (also known as Pakistan Education Conference) of academicians and state holders to revise the policy of higher education in the country, as he stated:

... The importance of education and the type of education cannot be over-emphasized ... There is no doubt that the future of our state of Pakistan will and must greatly depend upon the type of education we give to our children and the way in which we bring them up as future citizens of Pakistan.... We should not forget that we have to compete with the world which is moving very fast in this direction....

— Muhammad Ali Jinnah, 1947, [6]

Many recommendations were directed and accepted by the government to established the University Grants Commission as a federal regulatory institution. [7] Efforts led by Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy led to the imposition of Soviet-oriented first five-year plans which explained the first official education policy in 1956. [8] The first plan was an attempt to make education development suitable for the socio-economic development in the country. [9]

The literacy line graph in the four provinces. Literacy Pak Provinces.jpg
The literacy line graph in the four provinces.

In the 1960s, the financial policies and economic programs introduced by President of Pakistan Ayub Khan greatly emphasized to importance of higher education in the country. [9] A significant proportion of the budget was actually spent to promote higher education efforts in the country. [9] Thesis written by Usman Ali Isani pointed out that 912 million rupees were spent annually for the fiscal period of 1960–65 in a joint collaboration led by Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (the then called Ministry of Education), University Grants Commission and Planning Commission. [9] Colleges were transformed into full-scale research universities and special research institutes were established in all over the country. [9] According to the calculations performed by the Statistics Division and published by Isani, around 430,000 students were enrolled in different universities to pursue their higher education over the fiscal period of 1960–65. [9] From 1965 to 1971, the government spent 173.8 million rupees on the education sector as opposed to actual allocations of ₨. 278.6 million. [9]

1971–2000s: Revision and policies

After the 1971 war with India which saw the separation of East Pakistan as Bangladesh, the new education policy was announced with the implementation of nationalization program in 1972, by the Pakistan Peoples Party. [10] Under this policy, all two-year colleges were transformed to university status under the state-controlled policy, and privatized universities were nationalized. During this time, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had spent 70% of natural resources on higher education efforts; enrollment in the universities increased to 56%. [10] Prime Minister Bhutto sought integrated social change and economic progress through nationalization. [9] In 1974, the University Grants Commission was officially established by an Act of Parliament. [11]

In 1979, President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's policies announced "The National Education Policy, 1979" (NEP-79) which saw the harmonization of higher education in Pakistan with Islamic concepts and the national ideology. [9] President Zia's policies led to the fundamentalist ideas flaring in the higher education system in the country. [9] In 1992, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a "National Education Policy 1992" (NEP-92) to streamline the process of higher education. [9] This was followed by the Eighth Five-year Plans launched by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1993 which focused on primary education. [9]

2000s–present: New Era

The graph shows a comparison of research output of Pakistan versus India per 10 million population. The data was taken from Web of Science. India is shown as blue, while Pakistan is shown as green lines. Pak India Comparison.pdf
The graph shows a comparison of research output of Pakistan versus India per 10 million population. The data was taken from Web of Science. India is shown as blue, while Pakistan is shown as green lines.

Prior to the year 2000, different higher education policies, priorities and the need of competition between the political forces in Pakistan led to disturbances in the higher education sector as well as adversely affecting the University Grants Commission's ability. [7] The inadequate financial funding and policy implementation never matched the need of higher education in the country. [7] In 2002, President Pervez Musharraf took the initiative of dissolving the University Grants Commission and establishing a new autonomous organisation which was completely independent of the Federal Ministry of Education – the Higher Education Commission. [12] The Chairman of the Higher Education Commission was given the status of a Federal Minister, while its Executive Director was given the status of a Federal Secretary.

President Musharraf invited scientist and chemist Atta-ur-Rahman, who was Federal Minister of Science and Technology, to be its first chair, and immediately passed the Presidential Ordinance on 11 September 2002 to establish the Higher Education Commission. [12] Over several years, the commission implemented its program of enhancing access, improving quality, and increased relevance of higher education to the needs and requirement of Pakistan. [13] The reforms carried out in science and higher education during 2000 to 2008 have been applauded by international observers and he was called "a force of nature" in an article published in Nature. [14] [15] As a result of reforms introduced by Atta-ur-Rahman, sector 4 Pakistani universities became ranked among the top 300, 400 and 500 universities of the world under the Times Higher Education (UK) rankings of 2008.[ citation needed ]

In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan, in comparison to Brazil, Russia, India, and China ("BRIC" countries), Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms, since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of high highly cited papers in comparison to the BRIC countries. [16] To facilitate distance education and to promote information technology, a number of facilitating measures were taken by Atta-ur-Rahman. As of 2020, Pakistan has 85% teledensity with 183 million cellular, 98 million 3G/4G and 101 million broadband subscribers, due to the foundations laid by Atta-ur-Rahman of the IT and telecom industry during 2000–2008. [17] The situation in the higher education sector deteriorated in the subsequent decade with the rankings of all universities slipping badly. [18] Javaid Laghari was the second chairman from 2009 to 2013 who tried to continue the higher education reforms despite serious cuts in funding and opposition by the government. He is known for his stand on exposing the fake degrees of many parliamentarians, including Ministers, in spite of pressure by the government. [19]

A task force was formed on "Technology Driven Knowledge Economy" that is chaired by the Prime Minister Imran Khan and has Atta-ur-Rahman as its Vice Chairman. [20] The group has several Federal Ministers as members including the Federal Minister of Finance, Federal Minister of Planning, Federal Minister of Education, Federal Minister of IT/Telecom, Federal Minister of Science & Technology and chairman Higher Education Commission. The task force has the mandate to promote research in technology fields and to initiate projects that can use science and technology for sustainable and equitable socio-economic development. [21] Another task force of Prime Minister on science & technology has been formed with Atta-ur-Rahman as its chairman. [22] As a result of the efforts of the Task Forces headed by Atta-ur-Rahman, the development budget of the Federal Ministry of Science and technology has been enhanced by over 600%, allowing a number of new projects to be undertaken. [23]

Pakistan's first foreign engineering university (Pak Austria Fachhochschule) was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2020. [24] It incorporates a hybrid model involving a Fachhochschule half and a postgraduate research half, with a central technology park for promotion of innovations. There are eight foreign universities collaborating (three Austrian and five Chinese) to train the faculty, control quality, and eventually offer their degrees to selected students. It is located in Haripur, Hazara Division, about 50 miles from Islamabad. Similar foreign engineering universities are in the process of being established in Sialkot, [25] and in lands behind Prime Minister House, Islamabad. [26]

Programs and projects

The commission's main programs are following:

Governance

Active and listed Division(s):

The commission is governed and chaired by the appointed chairman who is assisted by the secretaries of federal education and professional training and science and technology. [35] The chairman and secretaries are assisted by the additional members who are appointed from the four provinces as well as university vice-chancellors. [35] Other members are included from state and private-sector and executive director. [35]

The chairman is appointed by the Prime Minister for a four-year term based upon the requests and recommendations send by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training. [36] According to commission's ordinance, the Prime Minister is the controlling authority and the shortlisted names are to be forwarded to Him for the final say. [37]

The Prime Minister reserves the right to re-appoint or give extension to the designated chairman. [38] Though the executive director is the administrative head of the commission, almost every decision in the commission is taken with the consent of the chairman. [39]

Finance and budget

Science is a lucrative profession in Pakistan and the official science policy in Pakistan plays a major role in the development of budget in the country for fiscal years. [40] Since revitalized in 2002, the commission's budget increased up to ~340.2% in terms of fiscal period of 2001–06. Around 50%–70% of federal budget is set for the development on science and higher education, particularly distributed to the commission, highest in the financial history of Pakistan. [40]

By 2008, as a result of its policy and financial successes, most universities had become strong proponents of the Higher Education Commission. Quality had increased significantly and several institutions were on their way to becoming world-class institutions. Many expatriate Pakistanis returned from abroad with access to competitive salaries. Besides the Pakistan government funding, a large financial endowment is distributed by the United States Government as part of its funding to the universities. [41] [42]

Prioritizing the expansion of the higher education in the country, the commission's financial budget is estimated near 57.8 billion rupees, more than that of Pakistan Steel Mills, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) or any other state-owned enterprises’ allocations. [39] The budget is aimed for development of various areas in higher education. [40]

Impact of higher education reforms in Pakistan

International praise

Since the reforms in higher education have been carried out in 2002, commission has received praise from the international higher education observers. Atta-ur_Rahman has received number of prestigious international awards for the remarkable transformation of the higher education sector under his leadership. [43] German academic Wolfgang Voelter of Tübingen University in Germany over viewed the performance of commission under the leadership of Atta-ur-Rahman and described the reforms as "A miracle happened." After teaching and visiting in 15 universities of Pakistan, Voelter wrote that the "scenario of education and science and technology in Pakistan has changed dramatically, as never before in the history of the country. [43] The chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Education recently announced the first 6 years of commission under Atta-ur-Rahman as "Pakistan's golden period in higher education". [44] Recently, Thomson Reuters in an independent assessment of Pakistan's progress in international publications has acknowledged that in the last decade there has been a fourfold increase in international publications and a tenfold growth in highly cited papers, statistics that were better than the BRIC countries. [45]

American academic Fred M. Hayward has also praised the reform process undertaken by Pakistan, admitting that "since 2002, a number of extraordinary changes have taken place." [46] Hayward pointed out that "over the last six years almost 4,000 scholars have participated in PhD programs in Pakistan in which more than 600 students have studied in foreign PhD programs." [46] The commission instituted major upgrades for scientific laboratories, rehabilitating existing educational facilities, expanding the research support and overseeing the development of one of the best digital libraries in the region. [46] Seeking to meeting the international standard, a quality assurance and accreditation process was also established, of which, ~95% of students sent abroad for training returned, an unusually high result for a developing country in response to improved salaries and working conditions at universities as well as bonding and strict follow-up by the commission, Fulbright and others." [47]

The reforms brought about by Atta-ur-Rahman were also applauded by the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD) which reported that the "progress made was breath-taking and has put Pakistan ahead of comparable countries in numerous aspects." [48] In limited time, it established and provided free access to scientific literature by high-speed Internet for all universities, the upgrade of research equipment accessible across the country and the program of establishing new universities of science and technology, including science parks attracted the foreign investors, prove the efficiency and the long-term benefits for the country enabled. [48] The United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development has closely monitored the development in Pakistan in the past years, coming to the unanimous conclusion that commission's program initiated under the leadership of Atta-ur-Rahman is a "best-practice" example for developing countries aiming at building their human resources and establishing an innovative, technology-based economy." [49] According to an analysis carried out by Clarivate Analytics and reported in the world's leading journal Nature, as a result of the reforms introduced by Atta-ur-Rahman, Pakistan achieved the greatest annual increase in research articles in the world (21%) in 2018. [50] A number of institutions have been named after Rahman including the "Atta-ur-Rahman Institute of Natural Product Discovery" (RIND) at Malaysia’s largest university, Universiti Teknologi MARA [51] and the Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences at National University of Science & Technology in Islamabad. [52] More recently, the leading Chinese University on Traditional Medicine in Changsha, Hunan has named a research institute in honour of Atta-ur-Rahman,(“Academician Professor Atta-ur-Rahman One Belt and One Road TCM Research Center”) in recognition of his eminent contributions to uplift science in Pakistan and to establish strong linkages with China. [53]

Atta-ur-Rahman has won four international awards for the revolutionary changes in the higher education sector. The Austrian government conferred its highest civil award (“Grosse Goldene Ehrenzeischen am Bande") in recognition of his eminent contributions. [54] Nature, a leading science journal, has also written a number of editorials and articles about the transformation brought about in Pakistan in the higher education sector under the commission. In an article entitled "Pakistan Threat to Indian Science" published in the leading daily newspaper Hindustan Times, India, it has been reported that C. N. R. Rao, chairman of the Indian Prime Minister's Scientific Advisory Council made a presentation to the Indian Prime Minister at the rapid progress made by Pakistan in the higher education sector under the leadership of Atta-ur-Rahman. It was reported that as result of the reforms brought about in Pakistan " Pakistan may soon join China in giving India serious competition in science". "Science is a lucrative profession in Pakistan. It has tripled the salaries of its scientists in the last few years.". [55] Atta-ur-Rahman was conferred the highest national Award of the Republic of China, the Friendship Award, in September 2014, and then elected as Academician (Foreign Member) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a prestigious honour [56] for his contributions to develop strong linkages between Pakistan and China in various fields of higher education, science and technology. [57] The President of China Xi Jinping conferred the highest scientific award of China to the Pakistani scientist Atta-ur-Rahman in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 10 January 2020. He thus became the first scientist of the Muslim world to receive this Award. [58]

The next chairman Javaid Laghari continued the reforms initiated earlier but focused mostly on quality and research. During his four-year tenure, emphasis was given to commercialization of research carried out in the universities and units to commercialize university research established in most public sector universities. Research output out of Pakistan increased by over 50% within three years, which was the second highest increase worldwide. According to Scimago world scientific database, if Pakistan continues at the same pace, its ranking will increase from 43 to 27 globally by 2017. In 2016, Thomson Reuters acknowledged the tenfold increase in highly cited papers from Pakistan as a result of the remarkable reform process under Javaid Laghari, and concluded that the rate of increase was higher than Brazil, Russia, India and China. [59]

Achievements

Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman Research Center Inaugurated at Hunan University of Chinese Medicine with Fawad Chaudhary, Minister of Science of Pakistan as Guest of Honour Dr-Atta-Inaugurates-Hunan-University-Of-Chinese-Medicines-Centre-Named-After-Him.png
Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman Research Center Inaugurated at Hunan University of Chinese Medicine with Fawad Chaudhary, Minister of Science of Pakistan as Guest of Honour
Atta-ur-Rahman Institute of Natural Product Discovery established in Universiti Teknologi, Mara, near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia Atta-ur-Rahman Institute of Natural Product Discovery established in Malaysia's largest university, Universiti Teknologi, Mara, near Kuala Lumpur.jpg
Atta-ur-Rahman Institute of Natural Product Discovery established in Universiti Teknologi, Mara, near Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia

The creation of commission has had a positive impact on higher education and research culture in Pakistan from 2002 to 2013 under the leaderships of both Atta-ur-Rahman and Javaid Laghari.

Video conferencing

Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Center at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, the national focal point for Distance Education LEJ Science Information Center.jpg
Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Center at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, the national focal point for Distance Education
HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry.png
HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry

Among the objectives of this project a primary objective of introduction of Video Conferencing facility, launched by Atta-ur-Rahman, is to enhance students teachers interaction through distance learning, bridge the gap of good faculty, meet the shortage of faculty members at the universities located at far-flung areas and ultimately to uplift the standard of education in Pakistan. The commission aims to give Pakistan a bright future through a young, qualified and energetic generation.

Eminent scholars from Pakistan deliver interactive lectures on various topics and recorded lectures from foreign universities are also broadcast. The lectures delivered/broadcast are aimed to develop fundamental concepts, to enhance the critical thinking for under-graduate and graduate students and to discuss cutting edge technologies/research work in the fields of modern sciences for students and faculty members. Interactive lectures from foreign universities are also arranged. Nobel Laureates/Eminent scientists/researchers are invited to deliver lectures to share their knowledge/research work. The nationwide distance education programme is being implemented by Latif Ebrahim Jamal National Science Information Center, which is an integral part of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences at University of Karachi. [68] Currently there are more than 150 universities across Pakistan which are availing this facility for conducting lectures, meetings and other events etc. More than 5000 lectures have been delivered and these are stored on the web.

Attendances regarding undergraduate research program

At the end of every academic year, a 3 credit hour research-based activity is not envisioned. The attendance criteria of 70 – 75 percent is not strictly applied in undergraduate research classes.

Political overview

Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman Laboratories at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, UNESCO Center of Excellence ATTA-UR-RAHMAN LABS.jpg
Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman Laboratories at International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, UNESCO Center of Excellence

In spite of its achievements, it was criticized by Pervez Hoodbhoy, a nuclear physicist and a professor at the Quaid-e-Azam University, who maintained that "commission have made higher education more expensive." [69] These views have been opposed by numerous eminent national and international scholars and scientists in the country and abroad. A strongly worded article against Hoodbhoy's views was published by Abdul Qadeer Khan, who termed commission as "a strategic organisation." [70] [71] Another work on HEC's praise was authored by Mansoor Akbar Kundi, former Vice Chancellor of the Gomal University and later Executive Director of Higher Education Commission. In his article entitled "Ata ur Rehman school of Thought" he has strongly supported the reforms brought about by the dynamic and focused policies of the Higher Education Commission under the leadership of Atta-ur-Rahman. [72]

In 2010, the altering of Eighteenth Amendment, whose clause was directed to devolved the commission, was strongly resisted by academicians, politicians, social activists and media personality; a strong lobby for the protection of commission was instituted by scientists Atta-ur-Rahman and Javaid Laghari. [73] Scientists and academicians from the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, PAS held a nationwide conference in 2011 under the Presidency of Atta-ur-Rahman to gain public support for the protection of commission at the public level. [71] During this ongoing debate, the then chairman, Javaid Laghari who was former technocrat Senator from Pakistan Peoples Party and President of a private university SZABIST as well, declared that the devolution of the commission unconstitutional. [74] Laghari also went on a media and public speaking and OpEd writing campaign to save the higher education sector from the clutches of politicians. The status of the Executive Director as equivalent to a Federal Secretary was taken away by the Pakistan Peoples Party government and its powers to approve projects through holding Departmental Developmental Working Projects (DDWP) of a value of up to 100 million rupees were also abolished, thereby greatly reducing its powers and effectiveness. While Atta-ur-Rahman is known as the founder and builder of commission, Javaid Laghari is recognized by all academics as the one who saved it from devolution and disintegration.

Massive anti-Pakistan Peoples Party demonstration broke out in all over the country over this issue in 2011 and student unions gathered in the federal government installations to oppose the merger. [75] In 2012, two petitions signed by Atta ur Rahman were filed before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the devolution of the commission and to preserve its autonomy. [76] The Supreme Court approved the petitions, and Javaid Laghari, the then chairman, in the HEC submission to the Supreme Court, opposed the devolution on constitutional grounds, thereby preventing its devolution under the 18th amendment and guaranteeing its autonomy. Based on the position taken by the chairman HEC, the court issued verdicts against the government's decision. [77] Ultimately, the Supreme Court rendered its verdict on the petition to preserve the autonomy of commission, paralyzing any efforts of government to devolve it. [76] [78] Following a political appointment of Tariq Banuri as Chairman HEC in 2018, a large number of Higher Education programmes were stopped or severely curtailed, including international scholarships, research grants programme, and free access to scientific instrumentation, [79] with consequences that led to the removal of Banuri before his tenure ended and the appointment of Farooq Bazai as Acting Chairman. [80] The National Accountability Bureau also started investigations of allegations of corruption against Banuri, particularly those related to cronyism, and misuse of public funds. [81] Investigations have also been initiated against Banuri for falsely declaring himself as a tenured Professor before the selection committee. [82]

List of chairmen

The following is a list of people who have served as the chairman of the Higher Education Commission. One term lasts four years. Atta-ur-Rehman completed his tenure in 2006, but was given another term till 2010. He resigned on 9 October 2008. [83]

No.NameTenure startTenure endRef.
1 Atta-ur-Rahman October 20029 October 2008 [83]
2 Javaid Laghari 23 August 200923 August 2013 [84]
Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani (acting)9 November 201314 April 2014 [85]
3Mukhtar Ahmed15 April 201415 April 2018 [86]
4 Tariq Banuri 28 May 201828 May 2022 [87] [88]
5Mukhtar Ahmed1 August 2022Present [86]

See also

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Science and technology is a growing field in Pakistan and has played an important role in the country's development since its founding. Pakistan has a large pool of scientists, engineers, doctors, and technicians assuming an active role in science and technology. The real growth in science in Pakistan occurred after the establishment of the Higher education Commission in 2002 which supported science in a big way and also became the major sponsor of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman. The emphasis was placed on quality rather than numbers during this period. The quality measures introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman as Founding Chairman HEC included:1) All Ph.D. thesis were evaluated by eminent foreign scientists,2) All PhD theses and research papers were checked for plagiarism 3) Some 11,000 students were sent abroad to leading universities for PhD level training and absorbed on their return, 4) Appointments at faculty positions were linked to international stature of the applicants as judged from their international publications, patents and citations, and (5) Quality Enhancement Cells were established in all universities for the first time in the history of the country. (6) The minimum criteria for establishment of a new university were approved by the Cabinet and universities that did not meet these criteria were closed down. (7) The Model University Ordinance was approved setting the governance parameters for new universities. (8) A list of fake higher education institutions was prepared and made public. (9) Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) was set up within the Higher Education Commission that established Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) as its operational units in public and private-sector universities across the country. (10) The funding of universities was linked to excellence in teaching and research under a formula based funding mechanism that considered enrolment, subjects and quality of teaching and research. The first IT policy and implementation strategy was approved under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, then Federal Minister of Science & technology, in August 2000 which laid the foundations of the development of this sector On the request of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman, Intel initiated a nationwide programme to train school teachers in Information and Communication technologies in March 2002 which has led to the training of 220,000 school teachers in 70 districts and cities across Pakistan. A 15-year tax holiday was approved on the recommendation of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman which has resulted in growth of IT business from $30 million in 2001 to over $3 billion. The Pakistan Austria University of Applied Engineering (Fachhochschule) has been established in Haripur Hazara under a Steering Committee Chaired by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman in which students will get degrees from several Austrian universities. Pakistan's growth in scientific output can be seen from the fact that in 1990 Pakistan published 926 scholarly documents while in 2018 the number rose to 20548, a twenty times increase.In contrast India published 21443 scholarly documents in 1990 and the number rose to 171356 in 2018, an eight times increase. In 2018, 336 people per million were researchers in the R&D in Pakistan compared to 256 people per million being researchers in India. The reforms begun by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS in 2003-2008 have continued over the subsequent decade and according to the Web of Science report, there was a 300% growth in research publications in 2019 over the decade, with 2019 marking the first year in which Pakistan was ranked above the world average in research. In 2019, Pakistan produced 300% more publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection than in 2010. In the decade of 2010-2019, more than half of Pakistan’s research was published in journals with Impact Factor. The global influence of Pakistan’s research is increasing as scientists in the country are publishing more in top quartile journals. The Category Normalized Citation Impact of Pakistan’s publications has risen from 0.67 to 1.03. output. As of 2020, Pakistan has 85% teledensity with 183 million cellular, 98 million 3G/4G and 101 million broadband subscribers, due to the foundations laid by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman of the IT and telecom industry during 2000-2008. In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan, in comparison to Brazil, Russia, India and China, Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms introduced by Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman FRS, since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of highly cited papers in comparison to the "BRIC" countries

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences</span> Public university in Islamabad, Pakistan

The Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), is a public research university located in Islamabad, Pakistan. The university is modelled on international standards with a strong focus on the scientific advancement of the nuclear science-related STEM fields.

SZABIST is a multi-campus private university with campuses in various major cities of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Its main campus is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.

Information technology in Pakistan is a growing industry that has the potential to expand more in the future. Matters relating to the IT industry are overseen by the Ministry of Information Technology of the Government of Pakistan. The IT industry is regarded as a successful sector of Pakistan economically, even during financial crisis. The first IT policy and implementation strategy was approved under the leadership of Atta-ur-Rahman, the Federal Minister of Science and Technology in August 2000 which laid the foundations of the development of this sector. The emphasis was placed on quality IT education in universities rather than numbers during this period. The quality measures introduced by Atta-ur-Rahman as Chairman of Higher Education Commission during 2002-2008 included:1) All PhD thesis were evaluated by eminent foreign scientists,2) All PhD thesis and research papers were checked for plagiarism 3) Some 11,000 students were sent abroad to leading universities for PhD level training and absorbed on their return, 4) Appointments at faculty positions were linked to international stature of the applicants as judged from their international publications, patents and citations, and (5) Quality Enhancement Cells were established in all universities for the first time in the history of the country. Thereafter two policies were launched by the Ministry of IT under the leadership of Anusha Rahman Khan, Federal Minister for IT and Telecom (2013-2018). The Telecom Policy was announced in December 2015, and later National Digital Pakistan Policy that was approved by the cabinet in May 2018. In 2001, a 15 year tax holiday was approved to promote the IT industry which has the grown from $30 million to over $3 billion during the last 16 years. A nationwide programme to train teachers was initiated by Intel in March 2002 in Pakistan on the request of Atta-ur-Rahman which has resulted in the training of 220,000 teachers across 70 districts at no cost to the government. The government of Pakistan has given incentives to IT investors in the country during the last decade, this resulted in the development of the IT sector. From 2003 to 2005, the country's IT exports saw a rise of about fifty percent and amounted a total of about 48.5 million USD. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 111th among 144 countries in the Global Information Technology report of 2014. In an analysis of scientific research productivity of Pakistan, in comparison to Brazil, Russia, India and China, Thomson Reuters has applauded the developments that have taken place as a result of the reforms introduced by Atta-ur-Rahman, since Pakistan has emerged as the country with the highest increase in the percentage of highly cited papers in comparison to the "BRIC" countries. Atta-ur-Rahman is Co-Chairman of the Prime Ministers Task Force on Information Technology and Telecommunications. As a result of the measures introduced on the recommendation of the Task Force, there has been a sharp increase in software exports of Pakistan.

Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary is a scientist in the field of organic chemistry from Pakistan. He is known for his research in various areas relating to natural product chemistry. He has more than 800 research publications. In 2015 he was recognised as the second most productive scientist in Pakistan.

This article presents an overview of university rankings in Pakistan. Within Pakistan, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) provides official rankings of higher education institutions (HEIs) nationally, based on a multitude of criteria. There are also various magazines, newspapers and international agencies/standards which provide rankings and analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tariq Banuri</span>

Tariq Javed Banuri is a Pakistani academic, development economist, environmentalist, climate scientist, educationalist, human rights advocate, and author who holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University and who is the fourth and current Chairperson of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), a statutorily established regulatory agency whose mandate is to improve and promote higher education and research & development (R&D) within Pakistan. Tariq Banuri has broad experience on the interface between policy, research, and practical actions on the realization of the goal of sustainable development. He has worked in government, academia, civil society, and the international system, specializing in economic development.

References

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