AFTER months of suspense, the Higher Education Commission has a new leader. Though the status of the HEC as a regulator of higher education affairs is reasonably well-grounded, the Commission’s future role, following the devolution of powers to the provinces, is not. True, compared to the erstwhile University Grants Commission, the HEC has made useful reforms such as regularly monitoring university programmes, promoting scholarship options for students and faculty, etc. But these past years have also been clouded by several issues that need the immediate attention of the HEC chief.

The HEC chair needs to take a strong position to justify the institution’s existence in the aftermath of the 18th Amendment. There are many roles and responsibilities that overlap between the federal and provincial tiers. For example, to launch a new academic programme, universities need statutory permission from both the federal and provincial higher education bodies.

Similarly, the HEC and provincial bodies conduct the performance review of programmes. In some cases, universities experience three evaluations as professional accreditation bodies, too, conduct their own review. It causes unnecessary fatigue. The HEC, the provincial commissions and........

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