LAHORE: The Punjab Higher Education Commission has recommended that universities across the province launch balanced degree programmes in other important fields rather than concentrating exclusively on computer science and artificial intelligence.
According to PHEC, students at universities should be prepared with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in mind. Alongside computer science and AI, attention should also be directed toward degree programmes related to energy, the environment and human development.
The recommendation reflects a growing concern within higher education policy circles that enrolment patterns in Pakistan have tilted sharply toward a narrow band of technology disciplines, driven by perceived employment returns in the freelance and IT export markets, while fields tied directly to the country’s most pressing structural problems remain comparatively underserved.
Chairman of the Punjab Higher Education Commission Dr Iqrar said that at present, the focus of most universities is on computer-based degree programmes.
He said Punjab’s universities are being recommended to launch balanced degree programmes across various disciplines so that higher education can be brought into alignment with societal and national requirements.
Dr Iqrar said that approximately 600 degree programmes are currently being run under higher education, however many of these programmes are unnecessary. Such programmes need to be discontinued so that quality programmes aligned with actual need can be promoted at universities.
The figure of 600 degree programmes points to a phenomenon that education administrators have flagged repeatedly across Pakistan’s expanding university sector — programme proliferation, in which institutions launch new degree titles to attract enrolment and fee revenue without corresponding investment in faculty depth, laboratory capacity or curriculum design.
The consequence, according to the reasoning behind the PHEC recommendation, is a dilution of academic quality across the board and the production of graduates whose qualifications carry limited weight in the labour market. Consolidating offerings into a smaller number of well-resourced programmes is presented as the corrective.
The invocation of the Sustainable Development Goals as a planning benchmark is notable. The seventeen goals adopted by United Nations member states cover clean energy, climate action, quality education, health, water and sanitation, and decent work — areas where Punjab faces measurable deficits and where trained specialists are in demand within government departments, development agencies and the private sector alike.
Energy, environment and human development — the three areas specifically named by the Commission — map closely onto the province’s most visible policy challenges, from generation shortfalls and distribution losses to seasonal smog and gaps in social service delivery.
The Board of the Punjab Higher Education Commission has approved the recommendations concerning universities. The Commission functions as the provincial regulator and coordinating body for higher education in Punjab, working alongside the federal Higher Education Commission on matters of quality assurance, degree programme approval and institutional development. Its recommendations set the direction for how public-sector universities in the province plan their academic offerings.
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