Federal government approves ordinance ending HEC autonomy

• Federal govt decides to abolish autonomy of HEC and subordinate it to Ministry of Education.
• According to the ordinance, the appointment of the HEC chairperson will be for two years and the members of HEC will be appointed for four years.
• The HEC was established in 2002 as an autonomous institution to ensure the promotion of quality education without any political interference.

The federal government has decided to formally end the autonomy of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and bring it under the Ministry of Education.

According to sources, the federal cabinet has approved the ordinance related to HEC. 

All decisions of the HEC will be subject to the approval of the Ministry of Education, sources said.

President Arif Alvi has also approved the ordinance. It has been renamed as the HEC Amendment Ordinance, 2021.

Read more: HEC chairperson Dr Tariq Banuri removed

According to the ordinance, the appointment of the HEC chairperson will be for two years and the members of HEC will be appointed for four years.

The HEC was established in 2002 as an autonomous institution to ensure the promotion of quality education without any political interference.

Even though the HEC is based in Islamabad, four of the 18 members of the HEC Commission represent the provinces while two represent the federation. Therefore, curtailing the autonomy of the HEC may harm the growing cooperation between the HEC and provincial higher education set-ups.