ISLAMABAD: Chairperson Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training Senator Bushra Anjum Butt directed on Wednesday that the meeting held at Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD) be considered null and void, declaring it to have been conducted with mala fide intention, against the prescribed rules and without the approval of the Presidency.
Chairing the committee meeting, Senator Butt also questioned how a vice chancellor, against whom an inquiry had already been opened for allegedly governing above the rules and who had remained in office for more than 25 years, could continue to function and allegedly plan to treat the position as an inherited right, including reported intention of facilitating the appointment of her sister as vice chancellor.
During briefing by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) regarding a recent meeting held at the PIFD, Senator Butt maintained that no post or seat should have been given to her (vice chancellor) until clearance of the inquiry. The committee also objected to her absence from previous meetings and referred the matter to the Privilege Committee to seek an explanation regarding her non-attendance.
Senator Butt emphasised that these steps were not directed against any individual but against the practice of running public institutions as private businesses.
As a future measure, she announced that the committee would undertake visits to universities within its domain to personally assess whether institutions were functioning in accordance with the rules.
Highlighting the broader mandate of the committee, Senator Butt stated that its role was not limited to taking up agenda items but also ensuring constant follow-up on decisions and implementation. Addressing concerns regarding fake degrees, she reiterated that a permanent help desk would be deputed at the HEC for assessment and verification. The secretary assured the establishment of the desk with immediate effect.
The committee then took up the agenda forwarded by Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan regarding the functioning, transparency, financial management, selection criteria, third-party evaluation mechanism and performance outcomes of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission during the past five years. During the briefing, NAVTTC informed the committee that its primary mandate was qualification development and framework implementation.
In response to questions raised by Senator Hassan regarding the total number of students trained, the committee was informed that 71,000 students were trained in 2025. Of these, 6,200 students belonged to Balochistan and 43,000 to Punjab. Upon inquiry about any fixed quota for South Punjab, it was stated that no such quota exists.
Regarding financial allocations, NAVTTC told the committee that its annual budget stands at Rs7 billion and on average, expenditure per student ranges from Rs80,000 to Rs140,000. However, a student representative from South Punjab, present during the meeting, claimed that only Rs1,500 per student was being provided for training courses. After hearing both the parties, the chair decided to constitute a sub-committee headed by Senator Kamran Murtaza to investigate the matter, identify institutions allegedly involved in embezzlement under the name of NAVTTC, and trace those responsible.
