Practice Area

University Setup

Kakakhel Law Associates | University Setup - Pakistan

Setting up a university can be a complex process, especially because it involves meeting a variety of regulations designed to ensure that students receive a quality education. Before starting your university, you must decide whether to establish a physical or virtual institution. While starting a virtual university can be more cost-effective in terms of overhead expenses, it requires advanced technical knowledge to set up and manage the operations.

Higher education in Pakistan refers to the process where students continue their education beyond secondary schooling, involving learned societies and multi-year colleges. The governance of higher education is overseen by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan, which manages financial funding, research outputs, and teaching quality standards. Pakistan’s higher education system includes public, private, and military universities, all of which are accredited by the HEC. Since independence, the expansion of universities across the country has been supported by the University Grants Commission (UGC), an autonomous body until 2002, when it was succeeded by the HEC. Annually, Pakistan produces approximately 445,000 university graduates and 12,000 computer science graduates.

Kakakhel Law Associates - LLP can assist in establishing a new university in Pakistan. The process is multi-step and requires compliance with legal formalities as well as adherence to guidelines provided by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in Pakistan.

Legal Compliance

The first step in establishing a new university is to fulfill the legal formalities by registering under the most appropriate law, such as the Companies Ordinance, Societies Registration Act, or Trust Act, as a Foundation, Society, or Trust.

Feasibility Report

Once the institution is registered under the relevant law, the next step is to submit a comprehensive feasibility report in accordance with the General Institutional Requirements Proforma (Form PU-01). This report should be accompanied by a non-refundable bank draft/pay order of Rs. 20,000/- (subject to change), made payable to the Higher Education Commission, as a fee for the evaluation of the viability report. The application should be submitted to the Chairman, HEC (five copies + one soft copy).

Scrutiny

Once the documents are submitted, the HEC will assess whether the application is potentially viable. If the HEC determines that there is a prima facie case for further consideration, the feasibility report will be thoroughly scrutinized by a panel appointed by the HEC.

Site Visit

If the feasibility report is accepted, the HEC will appoint an Inspection Committee to conduct a site visit to assess the proposed location, infrastructure, and available facilities. This visit aims to ensure that the applicant is capable of running academic programs. An inspection fee of Rs. 30,000/- (subject to change) will be charged, payable in advance via a non-refundable bank draft/pay order made in favor of the HEC. The visit will include meetings with administrators, teaching staff, students, and support services personnel.

Recommendation for the Grant of Charter

The Inspection Committee's findings will be reported to the HEC. If the report is satisfactory, a draft charter, based on the Federal Universities Ordinance (FUO), 2002, will be vetted by the HEC. The HEC will then recommend the case for the grant of a charter to either the Federal or Provincial Government, as appropriate.

Grant of Charter

The grant of a university charter will be subject to the jurisdiction of either the Parliament/President of Pakistan or the Provincial Assembly/Governor of a province, depending on the circumstances.

Financial

The institution must be financially stable and demonstrate the ability to sustain regular operations on a long-term basis, as determined by the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The financial resources of the institution must be sufficient to ensure its continued maintenance and efficient functioning. To this end, the sponsor must establish a non-transferable Endowment Fund in the name of the Society or Trust, as applicable. The Endowment Fund will be invested in the name of the institution or university as per the guidelines set by the HEC.

General Guidelines

Applicants will apply to the Provincial Educational Department. In case the applicant is located in the federal territory, the application shall be made to the HEC;
Each Provincial Government will act according to the Cabinet Criteria for evaluation and grant of charter. The HEC is usually consulted by the Provincial Governments the whole process. For this reason, the clearance by the HEC will help in facilitating the grant of charter;
All the formalities and the requirements mentioned above are outlined in the General Institutional Requirements Proforma in Forms PU-01 and PU-02 and PI-02;

These guidelines pertain to registration, availability of infrastructure and adequate financial resources, proposed programme of study, development of academic programme, teaching staff, admission criteria, fee structure, quality assurance mechanism, student supervision, assessment and examination etc. The main points of the criteria and requirements are highlighted for information of the entrepreneurs.

The copy of the registration deed along with a Memorandum of association will be supplied to examine the objectives and credentials of the members. A brief profile of each member of management should also be provided;
The applicant must apply to the HEC and submit 5 copies of the feasibility report including the soft copy in accordance with the General Institutional Requirements Proforma as per Form PU-01; and
Institutional and academic:

a. That the site selected for the institution must be suitable from academic point of view. Sustainable physical viability, availability of water, electricity, fuel gas, telephones, building materials, furniture and labour for construction etc. must be ensured;

b. That the building in which the educational institution is to be located must be suitable, and that provision will be made in conformity with the statutes and the regulations for a) the residence of students, not residing with their parents or guardians, in the hostels established and maintained by the institution, b) the supervision, physical and general welfare of students;

c. That the HEC shall satisfy itself that the Body has the physical, human and financial resources to establish a viable institution;

d. In case of a university, the sponsor shall have to make available at least 10 acres (3 acres in city and 7 acres on city fringes) and in case of an institute at least 3-1/3 acres of land, depending on the location having potential for further development. Virtual universities, however, shall be excluded from the condition of land;

e. Any degree awarding institution of higher education having four or more departments will be eligible for title of a university. Any institution having less than four departments will be eligible for grant of charter as a degree awarding institute;

f. Particular criteria/norms in respect of various aspects of setting up a new university or an institution, such as, departments, teaching and non-teaching staff, lecture halls, libraries, laboratories, internet, hostel, composition of Board of Governors etc. shall be as detailed at Form PU-02 and PI02;

g. That in drawing up the organizational structure of the institution (into faculties, departments etc.), the standard and quality of teaching and efficiency of the system must be ensured;

h. That an appropriate regulatory framework and mechanism is provided for regulating academic and administrative matters of the institution;

i. That the educational institution has framed proper rules regarding the efficiency and discipline of its staff and other employees;

j. That the strength and qualifications of teaching and other staff, and the terms and conditions of their service are adequate;

k. That provision has been made for library and laboratory facilities and other practical work as detailed in Form PU-02 and PI-02;

l. That at least 10% of students be granted fee exemptions and scholarships on need basis;

m. That 10% of the institutional budget is specified for research;

n. That where an educational institution desires to add to the courses of instruction in respect of which it has been approved, the procedure prescribed for accreditation shall, as far as possible, be followed;

o. The powers to grant affiliation to any institution shall be available to a University which has built in quality criteria, judged by the HEC;

p. That permission granted shall be restricted to a specified place and a particular course/degree. No sub-campus, branch or outpost shall be established or franchised without the prior approval of the HEC; and

q. Campuses located in one city of a private university/ institution will be considered collectively as one unit for the application of the criteria. However, the campus of a private university/institution located in other cities would be treated as a new institution and the same criteria will be applicable to each campus.