ISLAMABAD: At a time when the country`s higher education sector is grappling with several challenges, the Higher Education Commission (HEC)`s chairman and executive director (ED) are at loggerheads, allegedly affecting the performance of the regulatory body.

The HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, whose extended tenure is going to expire in July this year, has convened a meeting to `review the performance of ED` on Monday (today).

The post of ED is highly important as it acts as the principal accounting officer of the HEC, who annually deals with around 130 development and non-development budgets of the HEC.

According to sources, both officials had issues with each other on several administrative matters and have differences of opinion on two multibillion foreign-funded projects.

The ED, Dr Ziaul Qayyum, sources said, in his correspondence with the chairman and other officers had raised some objections on the said two projects.

Sources said the ED had also raised objections on the procurement process of one of the projects, alleging that some parts of the criteria were not in accordance with Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (Ppra) rules.

The sources said both the ED and chairman`s offices nowadays were not enjoying cordial working relations andwith each passing day their differences were increasing.

A source said holding a performance evaluation meeting of the ED office was an encouraging thing as no one was above the law. However, with the same zeal the performance evaluation of the long tenure of the HEC chairman should also be conducted.

Dr Qayyum was appointed as ED in 2023 for a four-year term while the incumbent chairman has been part of HEC for a long time, as before becoming chairman he also served as ED.

Dr Mukhtar, after serving as member and ED, was appointed as chairman of HEC in 2014-18. Then, in 2022 again, he was appointed as chairman and his tenure completed in July last year. However, the government reappointed him for one more year, which is going to be completed in July this year.

It is relevant to note that in the past the chairman and ED offices had also remained at loggerheads. In 2018, the then ED Dr Arshad Ali resigned following allegations of plagiarism. He denied plagiarism before resigning.

Surprisingly, after the resignation of Dr Ali, a new regular ED was not appointed until 2023 and the government kept running the office under ad hoc arrangements.

Finally, Dr Qayyum was appointed in 2023 for a four-year term.

When contacted, ED Dr Qayyum denied the impression of a tussle.

Asked about his objections on two multi-billion projects and the meeting to review his performance in the middle of his tenure, he said: `As far as my point of view on two projects is concerned, that is an internal matter of HEC. I don`t want to pass any comment. As far as the meeting related to my performance is concerned, that is a positive thing; I welcome this initiative,` he said.

When contacted, HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar too said there was no tus-sle. `We both are government servants. As far as Monday`s meeting is concerned, that is not person-specific; rather that is binding on HEC and every year the performance of MP-officers is held, and even when I was ED at that time too such meetings were held,` he said and denied any issue on the development projects in question.

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal last year, in a strongly worded letter addressed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had raised questions about the performance of the country`s higher education institutions.

He had urged the prime minister to replace the leadership of HEC with a fresh team having experience and a bold vision to address the prevailing challenges.

However, despite this, the PM showed his confidence in Dr Mukhtar and reappointed him for another year.

In the letter, the planning minister had sensitised the PM that nearly two-thirds of Pakistan`s population was below the age of 30 and had to play a pivotal role in shaping the future trajectory of the nation.

This significant youth bulge presents both an opportunity and a risk.

On one hand, it offers the potential for a robust workforce that can drive development, provided that these young individuals are equipped with quality education, good health and essential skills.

On the other hand, Mr Iqbal said, if these young entrants into the labour force do not receive quality education and are poorly skille d, they will struggle to find decent employment, leading to adverse socioeconomic consequences.

`Despite these efforts, HEC has failed to achieve its targets,` he regretted.