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226 was said to be partly due to the return of families displaced by the conflict in
2008-09, and partly as a result of the World Food Programmes incentive of
providing ration to enrolled students every second month.
Education
Issues of higher education
The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012
identified higher education, training technology readiness and innovation as
three of the 12 pillars of a knowledge economy. The budget allocation for
higher education in Pakistan stood at 11% of the total education budget, whereas
according to UNESCO standards this allocation should be at least 25% of the
total education budget.
Public universities faced financial pressure in 2012 due to non-provision
of funds by the government. Vice chancellors of various public universities
complained that provincial governments refused to extend financial support to
universities because they believed it to be the responsibility of the federal
government until 2014. Thousands of scholarship holders also suffered due to
non-release of development funds to the Higher Education Commission (HEC)
amounting to Rs 6.8 billion for the last quarter of the financial year.
In 2012, the country saw the launch of its very first Information
Technology University, called Punjab Technology University (PTU). Another
first for the country was the announcement of university rankings by the
HEC. Many universities rejected the HEC ranking, calling it miscalculated and
biased.
A welcome development was the acquisition of 1,016 kanals of land for
Swat University and foundation laying for Swabi University in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. Officials of some public universities were reported to have
attributed financial woes of their own educational institutions on the government
Students and teachers rallied to bring peace and order to Sindh University.