HEC asks PMDC, Bar and Engineering Councils to align with higher education framework

Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) has issued strict directives to all accreditation and professional councils, asserting that the authority to frame curricula and formulate policy for higher education across the country rests solely with the commission.

In a formal notification circulated to regulatory bodies, including the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the Pakistan Engineering Council, and the Pakistan Bar Council, the HEC said all councils must operate strictly within the commission’s national academic framework and align their guidelines with HEC policies.

The commission said that MPhil, MS, and PhD programmes fall directly under its regulatory mandate, underscoring that academic governance of postgraduate education remains the exclusive domain of the HEC.

“Only the HEC has the authority to develop curriculum and formulate policy for higher education nationwide,” the commission said in the statement.

The HEC also said policymaking related to faculty qualifications, teaching experience, and research standards was exclusively its mandate.

Under the new instructions, all professional and accreditation councils - including those governing medicine, engineering, and legal education - have been directed to ensure their regulations, accreditation criteria, and operational guidelines remain fully consistent with the HEC’s national policies.

The commission said the measures were being taken to preserve consistency and quality standards in higher education nationwide.

According to educationists, the development could have significant implications for universities and professional degree programmes, particularly in fields such as medicine, law, and engineering, where academic oversight has often intersected with licensing and accreditation requirements set by separate statutory bodies.