| Supporting research projects with multiples partners, grant aims to resolve key issues of national interest | Supporting research projects with multiples partners, grant aims to resolve key issues of national interest | <p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>More than 700 applications received for mega GCF grant launched by HEC</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Islamabad, May 22, 2020: More than 700 applications have been received in the Grand Challenge Fund (GCF) launched by HEC in February 2020. Supported by The World Bank-funded Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project, GCF is a unique research programme. Its aim is to encourage university professors to help solve the pressing problems facing the country.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">"For too long HEC funded research projects without asking whether they had any impact. GCF is different; its very ethos is to assess the quality of research on how it will contribute to socio-economic development in Pakistan, how it will help solve the problems that confront us, and how it will support our communities, our businesses, our farmers, and our government agencies in making decisions that improve the lives of ordinary citizens. GCF is a very competitive grant. The success rate is no more than 3 or 4 per cent. Grants will go through a peer-reviewed evaluation by high-level committees. We do expect papers to be published in the best journals. But we also expect to see results on the ground," said Chairman HEC Tariq Banuri in a statement issued here in Islamabad.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">In Phase-I (year 20-21), 25<strong> </strong>proposals will be selected out of over 700 submissions. The maximum duration of each grant project is three years, and the maximum grant amount is Rs. 150 million. In this phase, the challenge statements (i.e., problems to be solved) have been kept relatively broad. These are in nine thematic areas, namely Food Security; Water Management and Sustainability; Sustainable Energy; Sociology and Philosophy; Development Economics; Urban Planning; Climate Change and Environment; Information Technology and Telecom; and Innovative Governance and Reforms.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">To ensure high quality of research, 32 research intensive universities from across the Pakistan are identified by HEC, who will be the key partners in GCF. Faculty members from these universities have been asked to collaborate with faculty members from other universities, both within and outside Pakistan, as needed. The proposals will go through a rigorous cycle of evaluation and review by specialized panels of experts. To ensure the transparency of the evaluation process, the reviewers have been asked to declare any potential conflict of interest. Anyone who has a potential conflict of interest has to recuse themselves from the panel. Also, in keeping with best practice internationally, the detailed comments will be kept in confidence. Both accepted and rejected proposal applicants will be intimated by HEC.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">HEC has funded thousands of research projects in the past, and this has led to a 15-fold number of research articles published in recognized journals every year, in addition to some industry agreements and new startups. However, the impact on the ground is very limited. With GCF, a new system of selection as well as monitoring and evaluation has been introduced to orient researchers towards achieving more concrete outcomes, such as higher productivity and efficiency, more equitable allocation systems, better health systems, and more exports.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) is a five-year project (2019/20 – 2023/24) being implemented by HEC, with support from the World Bank. It aims to support research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning, and strengthening governance in higher education. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">===============<br></p> | 22-05-2020 12:56:56 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/GCF-grant.aspx |
| Recurring Grant for Higher Education Increased by 9.2 %, Special Package for Universities in Balochistan, GB & FATA | Recurring Grant for Higher Education Increased by 9.2 %, Special Package for Universities in Balochistan, GB & FATA | <p style="text-align:justify;">Islamabad, May 20, 2020: A special package of Rs.285 million has been separately allocated for universities of Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan, over and above their normal allocation for the upcoming financial year 2020-21. FATA University has also been prioritised and its allocation has been tripled.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The funding for all universities has been increased strictly on the basis of their performance, as indicated by the number of research publications by their faculty members, the number and amounts of the research grants received, the bandwidth utilized for access to digital libraries and Internet resources, the amount spent on conferences and professional travel, and the number of PhD faculty and PhD students.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Meanwhile, due to paucity of funds compared with the requirement, a principle decision has been taken by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) regarding newly established universities. During next year, no new university is being added to recurring grant stream of HEC. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Almost 20 newly established universities have approached HEC for funding from the next year. The inclusion of new universities would have resulted in a reduction of the allocations to older universities.</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Higher Education Commission had requested the federal government to allocate Rs.104.789 billion as recurring grant for FY 2020-21. The requirement includes funds for universities as well as for pursuing the HEC research agenda, the start of several new initiatives (NAHE, ETC, HEMIS, PERU, and P-15 Research Universities), funding for the Tenure Track Faculty, funding for the Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN), and the resources needed to meet COVID-19 related challenges.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Despite resource constraints to the federal exchequer, the Federal Government has allocated Rs.70.00 billion to HEC as recurring grant for the next year 2020-21, which represents an increase of only 9.2 per cent in comparison with the current year's (2019-20) funding of Rs.64.100 billion. </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;">However, considering inadequacy of funding for next year, HEC has requested the Prime Minister to consider enhancement in the budgetary allocation to HEC. In two separate letters, the Chairman, HEC also apprised the Federal Minister for Federal Education & Professional Training, and Adviser on Finance and Revenues, of the enormously deleterious consequences of inadequate allocation to higher education. Both offices have been requested to intervene at this critical movement and enhance HEC's budgetary allocation for next year.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Meanwhile, HEC has carried out a rigorous exercise for allocation of funds amongst HEC National Research Programmes, different type of universities / HEIs considering their needs and availability of overall funding, and HEC secretariat expenses, etc. which constitute less than one percent of the total allocated funds.</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">===============<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;"><br></p> | 20-05-2020 20:34:34 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/Recurring-Grant.aspx |
| HEC Directs Universities to Announce Exam Policies | HEC Directs Universities to Announce Exam Policies | <p style="text-align:justify;">Islamabad, May 12, 2020: The purpose of examinations is to reward students for actions that will make them successful in their future lives. This was stated by the Chairman HEC Tariq Banuri, in a meeting with the Vice Chancellors and Rectors of all public and private universities of the country. He was responding to a question whether universities should promote students without any exam. "Examinations and assessments are an integral part of the teaching process. Attempts to eliminate exams will have severe repercussions for educational quality and student achievement", he added. " Only fake degree mills issue degrees and certificates without verification ". <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">This was the fourth meeting between HEC and the Vice Chancellors since the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic. It was convened to reach consensus on examinations policy, admissions policy, academic quality, and the academic calendar during the virus pandemic. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The meeting decided that all universities will announce their policies on examinations and admissions within one week. All attempts shall be made to protect the academic calendar. The special problems faced by graduating students will be addressed. HEC will set up an appellate system to follow up on student complaints. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Sharing their views on the occasion, the Vice Chancellors appreciated HEC for its proactive approach towards the impending academic hardships in the wake of lockdown and closure of universities. They agreed to come up with their examination policies, based on natures of examinations, aligned with their respective feasibility scenarios and needs of students.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">Participants agreed that HEC and universities have shared objectives, as they want to save the semester, avoid disruption in academic calendar, motivate students to keep learning, and address the issues of graduating students. The common sentiment among the academic leadership is that that semester should not be allowed to go waste. There was also the shared concern that disruption in academic calendars is costly and takes a long time to correct, as the disruption of 1980s led to loss of time and quality with prolonged impact. All efforts must be made to sustain educational activities during this difficult period, so as to minimize any disruption in the academic calendar. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">HEC directed universities to formulate and publicly announce transparent policies on how they will conduct examinations at the end of the Corona-affected semester. HEC had canvassed the approaches being taken by universities all over the world, and had shared the most successful options with universities. However each option involved significant pros and cons. Universities could use any combination of the options as long as they met the minimum standards of readiness and shared the policy publicly. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">"Please review these options that we discussed today, formulate a clear policy on how this will be done, and share the policy as well as additional guidelines with your students, faculty as well as HEC."<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">A clear policy is also needed on admissions In the light of the recent decisions by examination boards to announce results on the basis of past exams. Universities were asked to decide how they will evaluate these results in order to make admissions decisions.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">HEC will circulate prudential guidelines on exams as well as admissions in order to ensure that the students' concerns are not ignored and every attempt is made to ensure quality of education. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Chairman stated that Pakistan is passing through a national emergency and the HEC and universities, in their capacities, are committed to providing public service by fulfilling their obligations. He said that students had raised a number of concerns, including those about the quality of online instruction, the issues of connectivity faced by some of them, and uncertainty with regard to examinations. Universities had initiated action on quality issues, and their reports were being evaluated at HEC. Also, efforts were afoot to address some of the connectivity issues faced by students through collaboration with PTA and the Telecoms, and targeted investment in supportive programs. Finally, universities need adopt transparent assessment policies to eliminate the uncertainty and confusion plaguing students. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The participants also discussed how to exploit the prevailing crisis as an opportunity to enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching. The future scenario is uncertain and the closure of universities till July 15, 2020 may be extended. This has necessitated decisions and steps on part of both HEC and universities with regard to online teaching, examinations, and admissions. These decisions could also help enhance the educational experience even later on.<br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">The Chairman also asked the Vice Chancellors to take steps to resolve the problems facing the graduating students on urgent basis, in addition to making decisions about new admissions, thesis research and use of laboratories. He said HEC has shared its guidelines with the universities about thesis defense, allowing it to be online. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">He urged the Vice Chancellors to supervise and assist their faculty to streamline the labour intensive work, helping them render the online learning management system a success. "All the complaints need to be taken seriously." He informed the VCs that an appellate procedure will soon be set up to look into the complaints. <br></p><p style="text-align:justify;">===============<br></p> | 12-05-2020 16:35:28 | <img alt="" src="/english/PublishingImages/ThematicImages/HEC%20ICON-15.png" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | https://hec.gov.pk/english/news/news/Pages/Exam-Policies.aspx |