Higher Education Commission has not issued University Rankings for Online Readiness

Islamabad, June 30, 2020 (PPI-OT): The Higher Education Commission has clarified that it has neither evaluated nor issued any rankings for universities’ online readiness. A section of the press has published reports issued by different universities that claim otherwise.

HEC has asked universities to self-report their readiness, and this self-reporting has been shared with the public. The list referred by some universities is just a statement of how much information has been submitted by them. So far, 138 universities have submitted their information and it is available online whereas the remainder (about 30%) of the universities have yet to submit their reports.

The purpose of making this information available online is to help universities improve their performance, rather than rank various universities. The percentage figure associated with various universities refers simply to the quantum of the information they have submitted by the due date. It is not a comparison or reflection of the quality of their online offering.

According to the information gathered so far, faculty members are delivering 108,084 out of 112,109 courses online to students. A total of 42,392 faculty members have received training in how to provide online education; this represents 86.7 percent of the 48,851 faculty members who have started teaching online since the start of the pandemic. Similarly, 127 out of 138 universities have reported that they have started providing their students access to digital library resources.

HEC will evaluate this information once completed by the varsities and will duly inform the press if any qualitative ranking is developed as a result. Universities are requested not to claim that they have been rated or found by HEC to be in 100% compliance with requirements. The press is also requested to verify such information from HEC before publishing it.

For more information, contact:
Director (Media)
Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC)
Sector H-9, Islamabad
Tel: +92-51-90402404, +92-51-90402412
Email: aikram@hec.gov.pk
Website: www.hec.gov.pk