ISLAMABAD: In an effort to developing top quality higher education system for transforming
Pakistan into a Knowledge Economy, the government has approved eight projects worth Rs 36
billion, which include establishment of university sub-campuses in districts, AJK Women
University and PhD scholarship programme.
Thousands of students belonging to far-flung areas would be benefitted from university sub-
campuses or campuses to be set up in every district, according to official sources. As many as
10,000 PhDs will be produced in next ten years under the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor to
provide Pakistan high quality human resource for next decade.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has already been instructed to establish a task force
on Higher Education and Employment to align academic programmes of universities with job
market, and regulate programmes on basis of job opportunities, development priorities and
research needs.
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has accorded the approval of eight projects in
this regard in a recently held meeting chaired by Minister Planning, Development and Reform
Prof Ahsan Iqbal, and attended by senior officers of the provincial governments and ministries
concerned.
The second important projects is the establishment of university campuses and sub-campuses in
districts, which would cost Rs 4.587 billion, and was recommend to the Executive Committee of
the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
Others projects included establishment of the AJK Women University Baagh worth Rs 886
million with an FEC of Rs131 million, provision of new facilities and infrastructure for main
campus of University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, at a cost of Rs 1.2 billion,
strengthening of academic and professional facilities at the University of Peshawar worth
Rs820.63 million having FEC of Rs489 million, strengthening of the Institute of Biotechnology
at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, worth Rs 588 million with FEC of Rs53 million,
strengthening and expansion of the Balochistan University of Information Technology,
Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS) Quetta worth about Rs1 billion and
strengthening of academic and research programs at National University of Modern Languages
(NUML) Islamabad with a cost of Rs 747 million with the FEC of Rs 302 million. For the last
project, Prof Ahsan Iqbal instructed cost rationalization without compromising the standard of
education.