Islamabad, 6th April, 2016: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training visited here today to Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad under the Chairmanship of Col. (R) Dr. Amirullah Marwat. The Chairman, HEC comprehensively briefed the Committee over the allocation of grants to public sector universities and proposed development projects of HEC in the PSDP for financial year 2016-17. He informed that the HEC only provide funds for recurring and development needs to the public sector institutions. The Committee was also briefed on the Prime Minister Reimbursement scheme for backward districts/ less developed areas. He informed that the said scheme was approved on 1st June, 2012 by the Cabinet Division for MA, MS/M.Phil and PhD students of Baluchistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA only, but in financial year 2013-14 the scope of scheme was also extended to the less developed districts of the remaining three provinces. The Committee appreciated the said scheme and recommended that the amount for the fee reimbursement scheme may be doubled and the students of less developed areas who are studying outside their native districts may be benefited of it. The Committee also recommended that the recurring funds share of the public sector universities may be increased who have limited income resources. The Committee further recommended to Federal Government/HEC to establish a university in every district in order to provide the higher education facility at the door steps and lessen the pressure of provincial head quarters public sector universities. The chairman HEC while giving briefing on the promotion of higher education in FATA, informed that the FATA University at FR Kohat would be fully functional by this year and its campuses be setup at every agency level in coming three years.   

 The meeting was attended by Mr. Muhammad Nazir Khan, Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhatti, Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, Ms. Amra Khan, Ms. Surriya Asghar and Dr. Imran Khattak MNAs and Officers/Officials of the Ministry and its attached departments.