Higher Education Commission's Planning and Development Division provides guidance on integrated planning and development processes to establish expectations for project scope, budget, and schedule to public sector universities and institutions. It provides guidance on managing the team during the planning, design, construction, and occupancy phases of a project. Project inception and preliminary planning require thoughtful definition of goals and needs, master planning to accommodate anticipated future needs, evaluation of project alternatives, and identification of site requirements, funding requirements, budget authorization cycles and/or financial impacts and project phasing. The P&D Division (HEC) facilitates the higher education institutions in this regard. The main objectives of all the activities are; strengthening of infrastructures in the higher education institutions, improving access to the education and developing research facilities to satisfy the requirement of educated peoples.
The Division is responsible for identifying, researching, studying, and evaluating policies, procedures, priorities, and proposals in planning or in the development of innovative educational programs and projects. Work includes coordinating activities with other ministries; planning, designing, developing, and writing special projects and studies for national-wide application; coordinating and participating in the review and recommendation of planning and development projects for funds to the state educational institutions; developing new and innovative projects and programs; and evaluating data for possible use in planning and development.
The Government of Pakistan has set a target to double enrollment in higher education over the next 5 years whilst bringing about significant improvements in the quality of education delivered at higher education Institutions across the country. In order to achieve these objectives, the Government is making significant investments towards developing institutional facilities, introducing new disciplines in cutting-edge and market based technologies, developing human resource including faculty, improving research facilities and student services, creating linkages with local & foreign universities and promoting university-industry interaction, amongst many others. The planning and development activities of the Commission aim to meet reform objectives through the development, funding and implementation of projects in these key areas.
Access to Information
The terms "information society" and "knowledge-based economy" are used to describe contemporary economic society. In this age of global economy, information is an essential resource for capacity-building along with social and economic development. This new global knowledge-based society requires embracing new development challenges and opportunities that the recent rapid evolution in information and communication technologies (ICT) has brought about.
HEC has aimed to ensure that a comprehensive Information and Communications Technology strategy is incorporated in its goal to develop an information society in Pakistan. Through the University Computerization and Networking Program, all public sector universities have been provided with funds to establish an ICT infrastructure within their institution, including Computer Laboratories and Local Area Networks. The revolutionary Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN), a fiber based intranet, has extended its reach to 60 universities, and provides internet connectivity of 155MB across the network. Now a full voting member of the Asia Pacific Advance Network Consortium (APAN), PERN is enhancing its functionality by providing connected universities with additional applications such as video conferencing and ‘Voice-over-IP’ services for communication between connected universities. Universities and campuses currently not connected to PERN or in remote areas beyond the current reach of the network have been provided with a satellite-based internet downlink providing 45MB of internet connectivity to support the delivery of ICT services at universities.
Digital Library Program of the HEC now provides a globally un-paralleled service, with over 20,000 journals from the world’s leading publishing houses available online to universities and R & D organizations across the country.
Programs introduced, funded and implemented by the Planning Division of the HEC in this context include:
University Computerization and Networking
Support of Telecommunications sector and IT related Disciplines
Strengthening of IT Departments
PERN Connectivity
The Pakistan Research Repository
Video conferencing
Facilities for Students and Faculty
Higher Education Commission is committed to providing high-quality services to both students and faculty to ensure the establishment of modern, vibrant and thriving academic and research environments in the Universities of Pakistan. Coupled with our infrastructure programs aligned according to our human resource development targets, the Commission is allocating funds to support the following facilities to students and faculty at Institutions across the country:
Student Hostel & Faculty Accommodation
Transport
Sports
Scholarships
Faculty development
o Training (Local & Foreign)
o Scholarship for Post Doctoral Studies
Student services
How P&D Operates:
