Islamabad, Dec 5: The Higher Education Commission (HEC), through its Higher Education Development Program in Pakistan (HEDP), is integrating advanced technology solutions called Maktab into local universities.
Under this initiative, five additional universities have joined HEC’s effort to digitize operations ranging from student admissions to graduation.
This automation aims to streamline the entire student lifecycle, reduce operational expenses, and offer modern academic services at highly subsidized rates.
Currently, 11 universities have already implemented Maktab, with training sessions conducted in September and November.
Recently, the University of Narowal, Emerson University Multan, Women University Mardan, Shuhada-e-Army Public School University of Technology Nowshera, and the University of Buner signed up for the program. Senior representatives from these institutions participated in a training session held at HEC’s headquarters in Islamabad.
The session was attended by Dr. Jameel Ahmed, Member IT, and Mr. Awais Ahmed, HEDP Program Coordinator, who encouraged universities to leverage these technological advancements to modernize their systems.
Globally, leading universities have adopted comprehensive automation systems to manage administrative and academic processes. HEC’s collaboration with TMC as its technology partner will implement Maktab to bring Pakistani universities on par with global standards.
Maktab offers cutting-edge Student Lifecycle Systems (SLC) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, enabling universities to digitize administrative, financial, and academic operations.
This includes the entire student lifecycle from admission to degree issuance.
These systems aim to improve efficiency, ensure transparency, and provide real-time higher education data for informed decision-making.
HEC is also making strides in IT infrastructure, with investments in high-end data centers, high-performance computing, and secure cloud services for Pakistan’s higher education sector.
Two advanced data centers named Astrolabes have been established at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore and NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi.
These centers aim to offer secure and affordable computing power to universities, reducing reliance on costly foreign services.
The $400 million HEDP project, funded by the World Bank, supports research, enhances teaching and learning, and strengthens governance in higher education institutions across Pakistan.
