According to an early assessment conducted by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), most institutions in Pakistan are not well-equipped to provide education through the internet, with only 40 universities out of a total of 205 having a well-established learning management system.
According to a World Bank report, universities in Pakistan have been forced to adopt an online style of teaching in order to protect their instructors, students, and staff from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In response to changing realities, the government has requested that the World Bank restructure the higher education development project in Pakistan to include a new component that focuses specifically on support for continued learning for all in the event of unanticipated crises and university lockdowns, such as the Covid-19 crisis.
According to a restructuring paper on higher education development in Pakistan, the project has so far disbursed $65 million of the $400 million commitment, and is rated moderately satisfactory for progress toward achieving its objectives of supporting research excellence in strategic sectors of the economy, improving teaching and learning, and strengthening governance in the higher education sector.
