Pakistan, World Bank collaborate to strengthen higher education sector

ISLAMABAD: A World Bank team, led by Senior Economist Inga Afanasieva, recently reviewed the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project's progress. The $400 million project, executed by the Higher Education Commission Pakistan (HECP), focuses on research grants, faculty capacity building, undergraduate education policies, and quality enhancement.

According to HECP, HEDP aims to support research excellence in strategic economic sectors, improve teaching and learning and strengthen higher education governance.

During the week-long review, detailed meetings assessed the project's six components, including safeguards and fiduciary aspects. HEC Executive Director Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum emphasised the importance of project missions in tracking progress and documenting lessons learned.

HEC and WB teams agreed on the next steps that will ensure that every opportunity should be availed to support the higher education sector during the remaining project lifespan. “The HEDP team presented that the overall project progress is 91%.”

According to HECP, the project has awarded 142 research grants including 43 first-ever public sector innovator seed funds. It has built capacity of 4,428 faculty members of affiliated colleges on revised Undergraduate Education Policy (UEP), facilitated roll out of UEP nationally, and established 41 quality enhancement cells in the affiliated colleges.

WB Mission Leader Inga Afanasieva met with HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, who assured commitment to the project's successful execution. Dr Ahmed also offered HEC's support for hosting the World Bank's South Asia Regional Cooperation event on quality assurance.

The National Academy of Higher Education announced a three-tier training plan for HEIs across Pakistan. Afanasieva reaffirmed the WB's commitment to supporting Pakistan's higher education sector through HEDP, according to a press release.

--IV Desk

With an uninterrupted 23-year career in daily journalism (1991-2013), the author/editor of this blog currently serves as Editor of Social Track, a weekly newspaper focused on social sectors, based in Karachi. Holding a master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Karachi (1990), his professional experience includes roles as senior reporter at Daily Dawn, Karachi (May 2001-August 2013) and Chief Reporter at The News International, Karachi (April 1991-May 2001). He has a strong background in development journalism, he has an extensive portfolio of news stories, analytical reports and features covering a wide range of sectors. He has had the privilege of covering numerous high-profile figures, including Pakistani presidents, prime ministers, army chiefs, foreign dignitaries, and VVIPs and attending conferences and workshops abroad. He began his journalism career in the early 1980s. Throughout his career, he has received several national awards from government and private organisations. He has contributed to various radio and TV/channel broadcasts and has also served as a trainer at workshops in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, focused on training journalists.

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