HEC Pakistan has launched an e-portal system called the Pakistan Qualification Register (PQR) to enable stakeholders of HEC to view ‘HEC-approved programmes’ from different universities and Degree Awarding Institutions of Pakistan.
The database of Pakistan Qualification Register will provide detailed information about different public and private institutes affiliated by the HEC and the different programmes offered by them. It will also provide details about their sub campuses.
Moreover, PQR will also provide the required set of pre-requisites to be possessed by every graduate.
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Initiation of the Project
The project was started in 2009 as HEC took steps to develop a Qualification Framework. This framework has been developed with the aim of covering all the HEC-verified, public and private higher education institutes.
The PQF
PQF (Pakistan Qualification Framework) is a framework that provides the levels on which qualification is based in Pakistan. Basically, it comprises of a list of all high-end quality assured degrees in Pakistan. A level has been assigned to every qualification on the basis of its difficulty. Level 1 is the lowest while level 8 is the highest level of qualification according to the difficulty of the degree.
PQF will help learners to gain knowledge about what qualifications are required in a certain field. It will also enable employers to be aware of the qualifications a person has achieved. In this way, PQF will set a standard for the qualifications in Pakistan and will also provide a ground of comparison for national and international qualifications.
In addition, it will enable the recognition of these academic achievements internationally. This will help graduates to learn and earn internationally as these qualifications will be used as an instrument to measure their intelligence and capabilities.
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Focal Persons of PQR
In October 2016, HEC nominated the Focal Persons for PQR for the first time. PQR has been widely accepted and appreciated by HEC recognized institutes. Out of a total of 183 institutes, 144 institutes have already nominated their Focal Persons. Up till now, exactly 15,098 programmes have been uploaded in the PQR directory.
All of the universities have been made aware of the fact that PQR will be linked to HEC initiatives including the appointment of HEC approved supervisors, award of national research grants for universities, attestation system of degrees awarded by the universities, thematic research grants for social sciences, overseas scholarships, etc.
