On Wednesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved a PKR 2,268 billion grant to the Higher Education Commission (HEC). Under the International Development Association (IDA) credit facility, the grant aims to help the education commission complete different disbursement-linked indicators (DLIs).
The grant was mentioned during a gathering of the ECC chaired by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. A summary of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT) regarding a supplementary grant to the HEC under the planet Bank was presented, and therefore the grant was approved.
As a consequence of inadequate funds, the HEC had been unable to finish nine DLIs of the project which could have led to the cancellation of $218 million in support that had been given by the IDA for Pakistan’s education sector. Thus, acquiring enough funds to finish these DLIs was crucial.
The MoFEPT subsequently requested the ECC for a supplementary grant approval to satisfy the standards for the accomplishment of the DLIs, and emphasized that it might “also ensure further disbursement of exchange to the government”.
The grant gained approval and can now help the HEC in completing the requisite DLIs smoothly.
In addition, the ECC also granted approval to the Ministry of Defence for a grant of PKR 30 million to allow it to purchase helicopter spare parts for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and PKR 400,020 million for the Ministry of Law and Justice to assist it in setting up additional courts in compliance with the orders given by the Supreme Court.
