HEC forms 22-member task force to build Pakistan's own national university rankings

Pakistan is getting its own national university ranking. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has formed a 22-member National Task Force to design a ranking system for the country's universities, ProPakistani reported from an HEC press release on Thursday, 5 November.

The news came on the same day that 90 Pakistani universities made the QS Asia University Rankings 2027, with NUST the highest placed.

What the task force will decide

The task force will review and finalise a proposed national ranking framework "based on internationally recognized methodologies" but adapted to Pakistan's system. It will settle:

• the indicators universities are judged on, and the weight each one carries
• how each indicator is measured, and what data universities must submit
• how that data is verified, and how the final scores are worked out

Who is on it

• Convenor: Dr. Ghulam Mustafa, Director of the Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS)
• Secretary: Muhammad Ali Baig, National Coordinator for National University Rankings and Deputy Director of HEC's Higher Education Data Repository
• Universities: representatives from Quaid-i-Azam University, NUST, LUMS, Aga Khan University, the University of Karachi and the University of the Punjab, among others
• Provinces: the higher education bodies of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

HEC said the aim is a "structured, transparent and evidence-based" ranking. It did not give a date for the first list.

Why it matters for students

International tables such as QS and Times Higher Education rank only some of Pakistan's universities, and lean on reputation surveys and research output. A national list built on verified HEC data could give families a fuller picture when choosing where to apply, including newer and provincial universities that rarely appear in global tables.

The test will be in the detail: which indicators count most (teaching, graduate jobs, research or facilities), whether the data universities report is checked independently, and whether the full scores are published or only the ranks.

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