There is a growing realisation in Balochistan that education sector needs to be overhauled to improve the conditions of restive province. As a result, the provincial government imposed an educational emergency in January 2014 and increased the educational budget. However, the focus of this drive has been primary and secondary education sector while the higher education has been ignored.

Higher education in Balochistan is facing problems on two fronts. One, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is not providing adequate share to the universities of Balochistan. Second is the reluctance of the provincial government to form a provincial HEC after the 18^th Amendment.

Despite the passage of 18^th Amendment, Balochistan depends on Higher Education Commission (HEC) for the funding and grants of its universities. It has been revealed that the HEC has not provided adequate share to the students and universities of Balochistan. These claims are made on the basis of information presented in annual reports of the HEC.

The latest available annual report of the HEC is that of year 2012-13. This report reveals that 2,896 PhD scholarships were provided by the HEC in the given year and the students from Balochistan only got 30 PhD scholarships. This makes up just over one per cent of the total scholarships awarded by the HEC.

The HEC is bound to provide at least 6 per cent of PhD scholarships to Balochistan annually. This quota was fixed by Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) on July 29, 2011. This means that the HEC should have provided 6 per cent scholarships to Balochistan from 2011 onwards. However, this is not the case and in the last three years, Balochistan has only got 0.72 per cent of the total PhD scholarships as opposed to 6 per cent.

PhD scholarships are just one component; the HEC has reportedly not provided Balochistan its due share in terms of development grants, academic conferences and so on.

Balochistan, being the most backward province of the country, deserves more than its share as per the constitution of the province. "Promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of backward classes or areas," states Article 37 (A) of Constitution of Pakistan. However, the HEC is not even providing due share of Balochistan let alone giving it special care as the constitution dictates.

The HEC media team was not available for comment when asked by The News on Sunday about the claims of under-provision by Balochistan.

Abdul Saboor Kakar, Secretary Education Balochistan, is member of the HEC from Balochistan. He has taken up the case of under-provision of the HEC resources to Balochistan. He told TNS that upon the agitation of Balochistan government, a four-member committee was formed under the leadership of HEC chairman to investigate the matter.

"So far two meetings of the committee have taken place in which the HEC has outrightly conceded that it has under-provided Balochistan in scholarships and grants," said Kakar.

He further said that the HEC claims that students of Balochistan do not apply for scholarships and that’s why the share of Balochistan is less than its quota. "We totally deny this contention of the HEC and also demand that all technical hurdles should be removed which prevent students of Balochistan from applying for scholarships."

According to the Secretary Education Balochistan, the HEC Chairman would be invited to visit Quetta and meet with the chief minister, governor and other concerned persons to resolve this matter.

Sami Zarkoon, Convener of Civil Society Balochistan, told TNS, "The HEC is depriving students of Balochistan of opportunities to achieve higher education and contribute to socio-economic uplift of the province." He warned that Civil Society Balochistan will protest in Islamabad if the HEC did not devise a mechanism to compensate for the lost share of Balochistan in scholarships and development grants.

Plight of higher education in Balochistan is further highlighted by the Annual Report of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) 2015. According to this report 70 out of 100 PhD faculty members of universities in Balochistan moved out of the province due to financial and security reasons. The report blames the HEC, the provincial and federal governments for failing to give salaries to faculty members which forced them to move out of the province.

Balochistan Education Sector Plan (2013-18) is the first education plan in the history of the province. This plan also fails to address university level education in the province.

In the recently concluded provincial consultation on Goal-4 of Sustainable Development Goals in Quetta, the issue of higher education was again ignored. Primary and secondary education consumed much of the consultation timing. This reflects lack of realisation of the importance of higher education in the province.

"After the 18th Amendment, provincial governments would have to cater to the growing needs of higher education by forming their own provincial higher education commissions," said Murtaza Noor, National Coordinator of Inter-University Consortium. Noor is of the view that effective implementation of Article 38(g) of the constitution is must to ensure the share of Balochistan at the HEC and other autonomous organisations.

He further suggested that higher education policies for Balochistan should be framed keeping in view its specific geographical, social and economic needs.

Permanent solution of problems relating to higher education lies in creation of a provincial higher education commission. Presently, nothing stops the Balochistan government from forming its own HEC by passing a higher education act in the provincial assembly. However, in order to protect the powers of governor as chancellor of universities, the idea of setting up a provincial HEC has been shelved by the ruling coalition for now.

Zarkoon said that creation of a provincial HEC is part of manifestos of all the ruling parties in Balochistan, but they have conveniently forgotten it. Noor agrees with the notion that formation of a provincial HEC is the only way forward not only for Balochistan but for the entire country.

Will vested interests of political parties in Balochistan and the manipulations by the HEC allow the formation of a provincial HEC?