On January 1, 2026 the Quality Assurance Agency of the Higher Education Commission concluded a regional engagement with all Degree Awarding Institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from both public and private sectors under the nationwide Quality Excellence and Leadership Engagement initiative. The sessions focused on embedding a sustainable quality culture across institutions through leadership ownership and continuous institutional improvement.
Participants welcomed the newly introduced QA and IQA frameworks as practical tools to strengthen Quality Assurance, enhance governance, and improve student-centered outcomes. Institutional leaders and heads of quality units expressed confidence that these frameworks will help standardise processes and raise academic standards across the region.
For the first time, multiple HEC divisions including Academics, Research & Innovation Development, Planning & Development, and Accreditation and Attestation engaged jointly with DAIs on a single platform. This collaborative approach helped clarify policy matters, align expectations, and provide coordinated guidance for streamlined implementation of reforms.
Institutions actively shared progress against QA targets, discussed implementation challenges, and highlighted best practices during interactive sessions. Strong peer learning and regional collaboration emerged as a consistent theme, signaling a positive shift toward institutionalising Quality Assurance within existing systems and processes.
The closing ceremony was attended by Prof. Dr. Usman Ghani, Rector of the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, who commended the Quality Assurance Agency for engaging academic leadership and quality enhancement heads across the province. He emphasised collective leadership and institutional ownership as critical to achieving meaningful and sustainable quality enhancement and praised CECOS University, Peshawar for exemplary support in hosting the national-level engagement.
HEC leadership and participating institutions expressed confidence in QAA’s continued role in transforming quality assurance practices and elevating higher education standards in Pakistan through sustained collaboration, policy coherence, and institutional commitment.
