ISLAMABAD, JAN 28 /DNA/ – The Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan has constituted a National Strategic Taskforce on Doctoral Education Reforms (NST-DER) to undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s doctoral education system and recommend forward-looking reforms.
The Taskforce will assess the quality, relevance, sustainability, equity, and global competitiveness of doctoral education in Pakistan, and propose strategic, regulatory, and implementation-oriented reforms aligned with national development priorities. Its work will cover the full doctoral lifecycle, including admissions, supervision, research environment, funding, quality assurance, and post-PhD career pathways.
Comprising senior academics, policymakers, quality assurance experts, international scholars, industry representation, and doctoral student input, the taskforce will adopt an inclusive and evidence-based approach, supported by advanced data analytics and international benchmarking, while ensuring full academic judgment and oversight.
The Taskforce is mandated to submit a phased reform blueprint and implementation roadmap to strengthen doctoral education outcomes over the medium to long term.
The initiative, taken under the leadership of Executive Director HEC Dr. Zia Ul Haq, reflects HEC’s continued commitment to enhancing research quality, human capital development, and Pakistan’s global standing in higher education. Emphasising a collective national effort, Dr. Zia Ul Haq has encouraged higher education institutions to contribute meaningful inputs, in the spirit of HEC’s quality assurance campaign, “Together for Excellence.”
