The Higher Education Commission (HEC) under the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project conducted an extensive capacity-building session for public sector universities on financial autonomy and revenue generation.
The purpose was to encourage higher education institutions (HEIs) to develop projects that enable them to generate funds and revenue on their own. Seventy-five senior finance officials, including Vice Chancellors, treasurers, and registrars from various public sector HEIs attended.
The workshop was focused on 26 HEIs to whom the project has disbursed Rs. 30 million each for this activity to equip these to submit their planned projects on time and learn from other HEIs’ experiences.
The allocation of public funds for the higher education sector in Pakistan remains low compared to international standards. The situation remains vulnerable owing to competing demands from other sectors on Pakistan’s national budget.
Moreover, except for Sindh, the financial contribution by the provincial governments for HEIs is also negligible. Realising this, HEC is encouraging public sector HEIs to enhance the revenues from non-traditional sources beyond government grants and student fees. It is one of the key development objectives of the HEDP project, where the governance of the higher education sector is to be strengthened by revenue diversification and fund generation from non-traditional sources.
Accordingly, after consultations with around 100 HEIs across Pakistan, two frameworks – one for revenue enhancement and fund generation and the other for improving financial autonomy for public sector universities have been developed.
