ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – In a bold push toward modernisation, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has launched a sweeping digitisation initiative aimed at reshaping Pakistan’s university landscape.
At the heart of this transformation is “Maktab,” a homegrown digital platform designed to automate key academic and administrative operations. Built on SAP infrastructure and rolled out under the World Bank–funded Higher Education Development Programme (HEDP), the system is now live in 25 public universities, streamlining everything from admissions to fee collection and exam records.
HEC has also set up cutting-edge “Astrolabe” datacenters in Lahore and Karachi, offering secure cloud storage and high-performance computing to partner institutions. With the Pakistan Educational and Research Network (PERN) now connecting over 300 universities and research centres, digital infrastructure is rapidly expanding.
More than 1,100 faculty members and 900 administrators have been trained under HEC’s National Academy of Higher Education to navigate this shift, while a partnership with Microsoft has introduced Teams for virtual learning across 100+ institutions.
The move is being hailed as a game-changer for transparency, efficiency, and academic excellence—but experts caution that long-term success will depend on closing the digital divide, especially in under-resourced regions.
This story has been reported by PakTribune. All rights reserved.