Overview
What HED Does
Higher Education Department, (HED) is responsible for education, learning and related services for students, as well as Faculty/ teaching & non-teaching staff, serving in Public and Private Institutions in the province of Punjab. Its aim is to achieve a highly educated society; where educational opportunities are equally available for all young people in Pakistan, no matter what their social, ethnic, and cultural background or family circumstances are.
Our Vision
The vision of Higher Education is to promote development of an enlightened and prospering Punjab by reinforcing knowledge economy along with a focus on equitable and quality learning. The realization of the higher education department’s vision of “enlightened and prospering Punjab by reinforcing knowledge economy” rests on the shift from access to quality which is evident from the key initiatives it has taken in recent past.
Our Priorities
In 2013-14, our priorities are to:
Establish Knowledge Park Lahore (KPL)
Establish Bio Park/Science Research Park at Provincial Metropolis
Organize International Education Expo (2014)
Arrange Book Fair 2014
Revise and Reform the Educational Curriculum as E-text
Faculty Development Programme
Celebration of Anti-Corruption Week
Reduce Bureaucratic Monopoly and Improve Accountability
Train and Develop the Professionals/ Faculty who work with students.
Improve Quality Assurance Services (QAS) for college students
Make HED as citizen centric Organization
Assure prompt Capacity Building/ Provision of Missing Facilities in institutions.
Who We Are
We are a Ministerial Department with a strong network of field offices to ensure compliance of Executive decisions. Currently HED operates through a network of one field headquarter, i.e., Directorate of Public Instructions Colleges, 09 Divisional Directorates, 37 District Directorates managing 690 colleges in Punjab.
Moreover, nine Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) for examination purposes, each at divisional headquarters are, working under the umbrella of HED. In addition to that 40 Public/ Private Sector Universities and 26 autonomous institutions are also operating under the supervision of HED.\
LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND: EDUCATION GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN
Higher Education Department is relatively a new department separated from the Education Department of Government of the Punjab in 2008
In recent years a renewed surge has been witnessed towards education reform and development at national as well as provincial level.
Through the numerous phases of federalism in Pakistan education mostly remained in the provincial domain. The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 for the first time placed education related entries on the concurrent legislative list thus allowing a substantial federal role in Education; particularly in terms of policy, planning and curriculum development.
The Interim Constitution 1947-1956(Government Of India Act 1935)
Education was placed in the exclusive legislative and executive domain of the provinces vide Entry 17 of the provincial legislative list. Any matter related to Education as policy, planning or curriculum was neither on the Federal Legislative List nor the Concurrent Legislative List.
The Constitution Of 1956
The first Constitution of Pakistan was adopted in 1956. Education in the 1956 constitution was stipulated as the obligation of state. The directive principles of state policy in the Constitution of 1956 required the state to remove illiteracy, provide free and compulsory primary education with in minimum possible time. Article 106 of the constitution dealt with the distribution of powers between federal and provincial governments. Education (including university education, technical education and professional training) was assigned to exclusive legislative domain of the provinces.
The Constitution of Second Republic 1962
Education featured prominently in the 1962 constitution as it was acknowledged as a fundamental right. However in terms of distribution of powers, the 1962 Constitution moved away from the practice of provision of multiple legislative lists and provided only a single list of subjects on which the central legislature had the exclusive power to legislate. The federal legislative list as provided in the third schedule of the constitution had 49 items and none dealt with Education thus delegating it to the provincial realm.
The Constitution of 1973
Education saw a major jurisdiction shift in 1973, when it was formally incorporated in the concurrent and federal legislative lists in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. In the federal legislative list Part-I three entries dealt with education (Entries: 15, 16 & 1714). Whereas the concurrent list included important entries like
education policy, planning, curriculum, syllabus, standards of education and Islamic Education15 thus empowering the federal government to play a dominant role in the affairs of education.
At national level following ten policy documents have been framed with varying degree of consultation and involvement of the federating units: 1. Report of the Pakistan National Educational Conference1947 2. Report of the Second Pakistan Educational Conference1951 3. Report of the National Commission on Education1959 4. Proposals for New Education Policy1969 5. New Education Policy1970 6. Education Policy1972-78 7. National Education Policy1979 8. National Education Policy1992 9. National Education Policy1998-2010 10. National Education Policy2009
The introduction of Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment has brought a number of significant changes in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973.
The amendment besides introducing changes in multiple Articles, it has increased the role of federating units in various subjects of Education is one of the key subject which is being devolved to the provincial mandate.
It has delegated the key subjects of education policy, curriculum, planning and standards to the exclusive legislative and executive jurisdiction of the provinces. The incorporation of Article 25-A is another fundamental change introduced by the Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment. Education in Pakistan has always been considered as a fundamental right in all the policy documents as well as the late constitutions of 1956 and 1962. Even the constitution of Pakistan 1973 contained a number of provisions which acknowledged the right to education; however those provisions were not enforceable. The introduction of Article 25-A however makes it a justiciable right, obligating the state to provide free and compulsory education to the children of the age five to sixteen years.
Post Eighteenth Amendment Framework:
Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment has revised the existing framework of distribution of powers between federal government and the federating units. Education has been shifted to the legislative and executive jurisdiction of the provinces. The new framework has reconfigured the federal and provincial relationship in terms of education governance. The significant changes altering the governance framework include the following:
INTRODUCTION OF ARTICLE 25-A:
The amendment has inserted a new Article in the chapter dealing with fundamental rights in the Constitution of 1973. Article 25-A22 obligates the state to provide free and compulsory quality education to children of the age group five to sixteen years. However the manner and method of the provision is made contingent upon law “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such a manner as may be determined by law” Article 25-A, Chapter-I, Constitution of Pakistan 1973
Provincial Role in Education
Introduction of Eighteenth Amendment has significantly redefined the role of provinces. The magnitude of devolved functions and the existing administrative capacity of the provinces is a serious challenge. In the context of education, there has been a phenomenal delegation of powers, and the Provinces will have to perform a wider variety of functions within the available fiscal space, capacity and without receiving additional resources in the near future.
The key roles devolved at the provincial tier as result of the eighteenth amendment include the following: a. Policy b. Planning c. Curriculum, Syllabus d. Standards of Education e. Centers of Excellence f. Islamic Education g. Area Study Centers h. Pakistan Study Centers i. Higher Education
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