The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has initiated a significant digital transformation project aimed at enhancing public universities throughout the nation. This initiative seeks to replace antiquated, paper-based systems with contemporary digital solutions.
For an extended period, students, educators, and university personnel have encountered delays and challenges in routine activities such as course registration and obtaining academic records. These obsolete systems have complicated university life for all stakeholders.
Through this new initiative, HEC is making a substantial advancement to assist universities in operating more swiftly and efficiently. The objective is to enhance student services, provide faculty with digital resources, and improve overall university management.
Launched in 2019 with financial support from the World Bank, the Higher Education Development Project (HEDP) in Pakistan, implemented under HEC’s supervision, has made considerable strides in reengineering the higher education landscape of Pakistan.
The idea of National Education and Research Networks (NRENs) remains relatively underexplored in Pakistan. NRENs function as the foundation of higher education networks globally, and Pakistan’s NREN is referred to as PERN, or Pakistan Education and Research Network. Under HEC, PERN has now connected over 300 universities and higher education institutions, providing access to high-speed internet and various other valuable services.
This connectivity has empowered remote campuses to access national and international educational resources, thereby helping to close the digital gap that has historically disadvantaged students in underserved regions.
Central to HEC’s strategic IT initiatives is Maktab, a locally developed enterprise resource planning (ERP) system built on SAP infrastructure. This system allows universities to integrate essential operations such as student enrollment, fee management, human resources, finance, and examinations into a unified digital platform. Students can now enroll in PERN-enabled universities with the assurance that their journey from admission to degree completion is entirely managed through digital means.
