HEC to restore Prime Minister's Laptop Scheme in next few days: chairman

• HEC chairman says will introduce online courses.
• Body to fund varsities based on performance, he says.
• Dr Mukhtar says HEC's funds depleting.

KARACHI: Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said Tuesday the body would restore the Prime Minister Laptop Scheme in the next few days.

Speaking with journalists in Karachi, the chairman announced that the HEC will also initiate a programme for online courses for students in Pakistan's universities with support from Microsoft and different global organisations.

He further shared that the commission is going to shift the entire system of verifying degrees and receiving equivalence certificates completely online.

Commenting on the commission's depleting funds, Dr Mukhtar said the HEC has decided that the budget received from the federal government for universities would be allocated among them according to their performances.

The commission will soon apply the condition of performance upon public universities following its financial issues, which the HEC has been facing due to an increase in the number of educational institutes and staff, he said.

"We would request the federal and provincial governments to not establish more public universities until the country's financial issues are resolved," he said. 

Dr Mukhtar revealed that HEC's budget is continuously depleting, while the number of educational institutes and their staff has constantly increased — leading the commission toward financial issues.

The chairman revealed that different universities have established over five thousand affiliated colleges in several cities and the commission has received complaints regarding their quality. 

The HEC has asked such universities to either improve their quality of education or shut down these colleges.

Talking about the fee payment issues of students from flood-hit areas, the HEC chairman said the commission will provide a two-months deadline for them.

Dr Mukhtar said that he requested Ismail Rahoo, Sindh's minister for universities, to end ad hoc in the province's universities and ensure the appointment of vice-chancellors and administrative staff in a timely manner.