HEC to Focus on Skill-Based Curriculum as University Admissions Drop
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has issued a new policy directing universities across Pakistan to integrate skill-based education into their academic programmes amid a sharp decline in enrolment.
Under the revised framework, all public and private universities will be required to embed industry-linked certifications into their curricula, particularly in computer science, information technology, healthcare, construction, high-tech manufacturing, digital economy, and finance.
Officials familiar with the decision say the move aims to make graduates employable by equipping them with practical, market-relevant skills instead of confining them to traditional degree-centred learning. The policy is also meant to address a widening gap between what universities teach and the demands of employers.
Sources said the HEC decided after observing that tertiary education in Pakistan has failed to keep pace with labour market requirements, leading not only to high unemployment among graduates but also to a marked drop in admissions at colleges and universities.
Reference Link:- https://propakistani.pk/2025/10/21/hec-to-focus-on-skill-based-curriculum-as-university-admissions-drop/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
