Privatisation drive expands to public colleges

ISLAMABAD: After moving ahead with the privatisation of 5,380 public schools under a public-private partnership model, the Punjab government has decided to apply a similar policy to public colleges as well.

Officials said the Punjab Higher Education Commission has approved the establishment of Colleges of Eminence in all tehsils on government directives. Under this plan, selected public colleges will be handed over through public-private partnerships.

The move marks an expansion of the province’s broader education-sector restructuring, which has already begun with public schools. The latest decision means the public-private partnership model will now also be used in the college sector, with one model institution to be identified in each tehsil.

One model college planned in each tehsil

Officials said one public college in every tehsil will be chosen and upgraded to international standards under the Colleges of Eminence initiative. These institutions will be selected from among existing colleges on the basis of defined benchmarks.

The Higher Education Department has set out 10 compulsory standards for the selection of these colleges. These include academic reputation, highly qualified faculty, student performance, research and innovation, modern infrastructure, laboratories, libraries, facilities, industry linkages and internships.

The policy has been approved by the Punjab Higher Education Commission following government directions. The selected colleges would be developed as model institutions under the new framework.

Policy follows school privatisation drive

The decision comes after the Punjab government initiated the privatisation process for 5,380 public schools through the same public-private partnership model. The extension of the policy to colleges indicates that the government is broadening the scope of the arrangement across different tiers of public education.

Officials said the colleges chosen for the programme would come from the existing public sector network rather than being newly established institutions. The emphasis will be on academic standing, faculty quality, student outcomes and institutional capacity.

The criteria also place weight on research and innovation, as well as physical and academic resources such as infrastructure, laboratories and libraries. In addition, linkages with industry and the availability of internships have been included among the mandatory requirements.

Officials said the plan envisions one upgraded model college in each tehsil under the Colleges of Eminence scheme.