Pakistan’s higher education programme is relatively small in size with only 3.7% of the 18 to 23 age cohort participating in higher education. Enrolment in both public and private institutions is increasing rapidly at approximately 30% per year. This dramatic increase puts a strain on the quality of education as the Government tries to spread their scare resources too thinly. Despite this growth, the gross enrolment ratio does not compare well with other developing countries (MoE 2008). The Higher Education Commission (HEC) recognized 132 institutions, 73 public higher education institutions and 59 in the private sector. The HEC also reports 1,992 affiliated colleges that are affiliated to a university but not maintained by it (Government of Pakistan 2011). The duration of post-secondary education varies in technical and professional fields. The polytechnic diploma is a 3-year course. A bachelor’s degree in medicine (MBBS) requires 5 years of study after higher secondary education (12 years of schooling). Similarly, a bachelor’s degree course, both in engineering and veterinary medicine, is an additional 4 years after the higher secondary education examination.
Technical education is an independent stream started in the mid-1950s with the establishment of 2 polytechnic institutes in Karachi and Rawalpindi. The major types of technical and vocational (TVE) institutions at the secondary level are: (i) vocational institutes under Provincial Education Departments; (ii) commercial training institutes under the MoE and Provincial Education Departments; (iii) training centres operating under various departments, for example, labour and manpower, social welfare, industries and agriculture; and (iv) the MoE’s new technical stream at higher secondary schools. In the latter programme, students are taught technical subjects such as woodwork, electricity, IT and metalwork in mainstream schools as elective subjects (IBE 2011).
As of 2011, there is no systematic method of monitoring national and provincial labour market demand, beyond general labour force surveys. Additionally, Pakistan’s TVET institutions do not do formal surveys of graduates. This does not allow for leaders to adjust their policies to the effect of variables in the labour market such as globalization (UNESCO-UNEVOC 2009).
The enrolment rates in universities and degree awarding institutions (DAIs) have been steadily increasing over the past decade. In 2000, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) estimated enrolment under 300,000 students with an increase to over 800,000 students enrolled in higher education in 2008 (Government of Pakistan 2011). Despite this rise, these numbers are still very low in relation to the total population with only 3.7% of the 18 to 23 age cohort participating in higher education. Following in the trend regarding urban and rural access to education, higher education is no exception. The Punjab province, the country’s most populated province and home to the city of Lahore, the number of higher education institutions is more than double that of any other province. Balochistan, F.A.T.A. and the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan house the least number of institutions (MoE 2008). In regards to gender, this level of education is male dominated with a majority of male enrolments and faculty in professional colleges and universities. In 2008 the enrolment figures for universities showed 54% of students being male and 46% being female (Government of Pakistan 2011). However, enrolments and teachers display an improved gender balance in arts and science colleges (Government of Pakistan 2009).
In regards to TVET, there are 3,703 TVET institutions in Pakistan with a capacity of over 184,000 students. It is estimated by UNEVOC that the TVET institutions in place have the capacity to increase their enrolment to include an additional 120,000 students. The Directorate of Technical Education has 685 of these institutions that offer degrees from 1-3 years of duration. The remaining institutions are under the Directorate of Manpower and Training (Labour) that offers courses for the duration of 1 month to 2 years (UNESCO-UNEVOC 2009). Enrolment in 2008 showed a gender disparity with a student population of 62% males and only 38% females (Government of Pakistan 2009).
Similar to other areas of education, Pakistan suffers from a low quality of higher education. One reason for the inadequate quality comes from the lack of specialization among universities. Public universities compete in offering the widest variety of disciplines and spread their scarce resources too thinly. The scale, quality and institutional arrangements of the sector are insufficient to support innovation in the economy or attract high flows of foreign capital to its skill base (MoE 2008). In order to address some of these issues, the Government of Pakistan has appointed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to be in charge of supervising curricula and textbooks beyond grade 12. The HEC has also been entrusted to maintain the standards of education in keeping with the nation’s changing social and economic needs.
TVET in Pakistan suffers from a lack of qualified teachers, the use of outdated course material/curricula and the lack of interaction with industry and the world of work. The NWFP has reported employment of graduates to be 53% while the Manpower Directorate of the Punjab reported an employment level of 47% (UNESCO-UNEVOC 2009).
Universities are the responsibility of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The HEC was set up in 2002 to facilitate the development of the universities of Pakistan, replacing the University Grants Commission. The Commission supports the attainment of quality education in these institutions by facilitating and coordinating self-assessment of academic programmes and their external review by national and international experts. The HEC also supervises the planning, development and accreditation of public and private sector institutions of higher education. The Ministry/Department of Health is in charge of medical colleges (UNESCO 2007).
The National Institute of Science and Technical Education (NISTE) is an institution working with the MoE for achieving quality education in science and technical education. It includes human resources training, research and development of instructional technology, co-ordination of science and technical education activities at the national and international levels and popularization of scientific and technical culture in the country. Outside of the NISTE, there are a number of federal, provincial and private agencies administering TVET in Pakistan, including: Government Vocational Institutes (GVIs) administered by the Provincial Education Department; Government Vocational Institutes (GVIs) Vocational Training Centres (VTCs), Government Vocational Institutes (GVIs) and Apprenticeship Training Centres (ATCs) administered by the Provincial Labour Departments; among others (UNESCO 2011).
The National Education Policy (1998-10) reflects the Government’s wish to upgrade the quality of higher education by bringing teaching, learning and research process in line with international standards. In order to realize these goals, the Pakistan Education Task Force has narrowed down 3 key priorities to focus on, those being: increasing accountability, building capacity and creating equitable access to quality education (UNESCO 2007). The Higher Education Commission’s Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF) 2005-2010, addresses these challenges in a comprehensive way. This development framework combines the HEC’s vision for higher education in responding to domestic and global challenges, with the practical steps needed to deliver the HEC’s contribution to the reform agenda. Among other measures, the Government has also increased the spending on higher education, having more than doubled it in the time period between 20015-06 to 2010-11 (from 10.5 to 21.5 million Rs) (MoE 2008, HEC n.d.).
