USAID Holds Higher Education Dialogue With Public Sector Universities

The US government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), organized a Vice Chancellors’ Dialogue with public sector universities through its five-year, $19 million, Higher Education System Strengthening Activity (HESSA).

The top leadership shared their experiences of working with HESSA, including reflections about best practices in academia, research, and governance learned during their US study tour and ideas for making the program more demand-driven.

HESSA is being implemented in collaboration with 16 Pakistani public sector universities and other stakeholders, with a focus on strengthening universities’ capacity to deliver market-driven education and research to enhance graduate employability.

The program aims to achieve this goal through three components: advancing leadership, governance, and management at Pakistani universities; improving the relevance, quality, and accessibility of higher education; and enhancing support services across the students’ life cycle.

Anne Flaker, Director of Education Office USAID, said, “We are proud that our commitment to the education sector has helped lay the foundations for continued economic growth and development.”

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, said, “HEC is working closely with the US government to strengthen the higher education system in Pakistan and build a cadre of expertise and leadership in the areas of research, policy making, capacity building, student services, and financial aid.”