HEC Drafts New Rules for Setting Up Universities, Ending 24-Year-Old Guidelines
Pakistan's Higher Education Commission is rewriting the rulebook it uses to decide who gets to open a university — a document that's been sitting largely unchanged since 2002, back when the sector looked nothing like it does today.
What HEC actually approved
At its 47th Commission meeting on July 3, 2026, HEC approved — in principle — a new "Regulatory Framework for the Establishment and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions Pakistan 2026," intended to replace the cabinet-approved guidelines that have governed university establishment since 2002. Officials say the old rules "no longer adequately address global education standards or the current requirements of Pakistan's higher-education sector" — a fair description of a framework written before smartphones, online degree programs, or most of today's private university sector existed.
Where the draft stands right now
- The draft is being circulated to the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan for feedback and consent
- Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chaired a review meeting that endorsed HEC's effort but asked for further revisions before the draft moves forward
- Once provincial input is folded in, the framework goes to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, and eventually the federal cabinet, for final approval
- No date has been set for when the new rules take legal effect — this is still a consultation-stage document, not a notified regulation
The jurisdiction fight sitting underneath this
This isn't a purely technical update. Sindh and Punjab have separately questioned whether HEC even has the constitutional authority to set minimum standards for establishing new universities, arguing higher education sits closer to a provincial subject after the 18th Amendment devolved much of it. HEC pushed back hard, formally reasserting that standard-setting for higher education "falls within the Federal Legislative List, Part II," and that since HEC alone is responsible for recognizing degrees and qualifications nationally, it's "logical and appropriate" that it also sets the bar for opening a university in the first place. Provincial higher education commissions, HEC says, can implement standards locally — they can't rewrite them.
Why this matters beyond the paperwork
Pakistan has seen a steady stream of new public and private universities open over the past decade, and inconsistent establishment standards have been part of why degree recognition and accreditation disputes keep surfacing — for students who enroll, then discover a program or campus wasn't properly recognized after the fact. A modernized, nationally consistent framework, if it survives the provincial pushback intact, should make it clearer upfront which institutions meet the bar and which don't, rather than leaving that discovery for after a student has already paid tuition and sat exams.
The takeaway
Nothing changes for currently enrolled students or existing universities yet — this is a draft still working through provincial consultation and cabinet approval, likely to take months rather than weeks. But the underlying fight over who controls higher-education standards in Pakistan is a genuine one, and it's worth checking HEC's official notifications periodically if you're choosing a university, evaluating a new institution's accreditation status, or advising someone who is.