World Bank Commends HEDP Project’s Progress in Pakistan

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The Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project, a flagship initiative of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) funded by the World Bank (WB), recently held its 10th supervision mission in Islamabad. The $400 million project aims to enhance research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improve teaching and learning, and strengthen governance in Pakistan’s higher education sector.

The week-long mission involved detailed meetings on each of the six components of the HEDP project. These sessions reviewed progress and discussed safeguards and fiduciary aspects to ensure the project’s success.

The World Bank team, led by Ms Inga Afanasieva, Senior Economist at the World Bank, met with HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed. During the introductory meeting, Dr Ahmed reaffirmed HEC’s commitment to the project’s successful execution. He also extended an offer for HEC to host the World Bank’s next South Asia Regional Cooperation event on quality assurance in Pakistan, emphasizing the importance of regional collaboration in higher education.

Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum, Executive Director of HEC, and Mr Awais Ahmed, Project Coordinator, chaired the kick-off meeting. Dr Ul-Qayyum highlighted the significance of these project missions in tracking progress, documenting lessons learned, and serving as checkpoints for the project. He stressed that the project’s targets are being closely monitored to ensure timely completion.

Both HEC and WB teams conducted a thorough review of the progress of each component and agreed on the next steps to maximize the impact of the project in the remaining lifespan. The HEDP team reported that the overall project progress stands at an impressive 91%.

The project has made significant strides, including the awarding of 142 research grants, 43 of which are the first-ever public sector innovator seed funds. It has also built the capacity of 4,428 faculty members from affiliated colleges on the revised Undergraduate Education Policy (UEP), facilitated its national rollout, and established 41 quality enhancement cells in these colleges.

In addition, the project has expanded the Pakistan Education Research Network (PERN) to an additional 133 higher education institutions (HEIs), bringing the total number of connected HEIs to over 400 with a combined bandwidth of approximately 100 GB. The project has also launched several major IT initiatives, including advanced student information systems for public sector universities, state-of-the-art data centers, and high-performance computing facilities.

The project has yielded numerous notable outcomes, including 204 journal publications, 127 conference publications, 15 patents, 144 research events, seven spin-offs, 24 awards/recognitions, 25 tech partnership licenses, and contributions to 17 policy-level developments.

The National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE), a key component of the HEDP project, has also made significant progress. NAHE has conducted several capacity-building programs, training 196 women leaders across Pakistan, many of whom are now advancing in management roles. NAHE plans to conduct a three-tier training program for HEIs across Pakistan in the near future.

Ms Afanasieva emphasized the World Bank’s ongoing commitment to supporting Pakistan’s higher education sector through the HEDP project. She expressed satisfaction with the project’s performance and reaffirmed the Bank’s support for key areas such as NAHE, affiliated colleges, financial autonomy of universities, and faculty training. She also encouraged the project team to enhance female participation at all levels, underscoring the importance of improving gender equity in higher education.

The mission concluded with a shared commitment from both HEC and the World Bank to continue working together to achieve the project’s goals and strengthen Pakistan’s higher education sector.