By Khalid Khattak
LAHORE: During nearly two years of the Maryam Nawaz Sharif led Punjab government, not a single bill to establish a new public sector university in the province has been introduced in the Punjab Assembly.
Yet, under her administration, 25 bills to establish private universities have been introduced in the Punjab Assembly. As per the Punjab Assembly records, of these, 23 have already been passed, while two remain pending with the assembly’s higher education committee. On average, this comes to roughly one private university bill introduced and passed per month.
Comparative insights
A comparative analysis based on available data and an examination of weeks of higher education related legislative business at the Punjab Assembly show that public and private universities in Punjab are currently almost evenly split, each representing about half the total.
However, once 23 newly approved private universities are formally notified by the government, the balance shifts significantly. Private institutions will account for approximately 63 percent of all universities and degree awarding institutions (DAIs) in the province, while public universities will fall to roughly 37 percent.
According to the latest data, there are 69 universities/DAIs under the administrative control of Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab: 34 public and 35 private institutions. Currently, excluding the 23 recently approved bills, public institutions represent about 49 percent and private institutions roughly 51 percent, placing the sectors at near parity.
The hidden cost
When the Assembly passes a private university bill, it does not automatically mean that the university is established or operational. Some acts declare a university established upon commencement, while others require a separate notification by the government after regulatory, financial, and infrastructure requirements are met. As a result, several chartered universities exist only on paper and remain non-functional until they eventually become operational once noti
fied.
Even so, the large number of private university bills remains a concern, as each bill consumes legislative time and public resources from introduction through passage. Legislative time, assembly sessions, committee work, and administrative processing are all funded by the public exchequer, regardless of whether a university sooner or later becomes operational.
Lahore: Everyone’s favorite
The location of many of the private institutions weakens the commonly cited government argument that the private sector is mainly filling gaps in access to higher education. Of the already 35 functional private institutions, Lahore alone hosts 22 of these, making the provincial capital the favorite destination for the private sector. The majority of the 23 universities whose bills have been passed also have their main campuses in Lahore.
It is also important to note that these figures only cover provincially chartered universities. Some institutions, such as LUMS, are federally chartered and therefore do not appear on the HED’s lists. As a result, the actual presence of private universities in Punjab is larger than what provincial data alone reflects.
An important aspect of the rapid growth of private universities in Punjab is the overlap between higher education and media ownership. In several cases, education groups that later entered the media sector now operate universities alongside television channels or digital platforms. While some these institutions were not originally set up by media houses, their expanded media presence has increased their influence. Stakeholders argue that in Pakistan’s media driven environment, such visibility can shape public narratives and limit sustained scrutiny.Land and financial requirements
HED Punjab’s rules set clear land and financial conditions for new private universities and DAIs. According to the Procedure for the Establishment of a New University or an Institution in Private Sector 2006, a Society or Trust applying for a proposed university must own Rs 200 million in total resources, including an endowment fund, assets, and working capital, while a degree-awarding institute must meet a Rs50 million threshold. However, a 2017 notification by the HED Punjab amended the requirements that a Society or Trust must own in its name at least 10 acres of land and minimum tangible assets of Rs 100 million and also clarified that leased land would not be acceptable.
Private bills, public concerns
Stakeholders have raised concern over the growing practice of introducing private university bills through private members rather than government legislation. Normally, proposals for new universities are reviewed by the HED and the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) before drafting, but private member bills often bypass this scrutiny, leaving land, financial, and regulatory requirements to be addressed after passage.
This issue is not new. In 2021, under the PTI-led coalition, Higher Education Minister Raja Yassir Humayun Sarfaraz protested when PML‑Q MPAs submitted several such bills and even sought the prime minister’s intervention.
Currently, most private university bills in Punjab have been moved by PML‑N members. Several MPAs submitted more than one bill, including Rana Muhammad Arshad, Rana Abdul Mannan Sajid, Usama Fazal, Chaudhry 
Iftikhar Hussain Chhachhar, Malik Ahmad Saeed Khan, and Rahila Khadim Hussain, each moving two. Women representatives were also active, with Rahila Khadim Hussain, Shazia Abid, Sarah Ahmad, Somia Atta Shahani, Atiya Iftikhar, and Tashfeen Safdar sponsoring bills. Other parties, including the PPP and the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, contributed fewer movers, while Falbous Christopher represented a minority seat. Overall, the legislative drive was dominated by PML‑N members.
List of passed and pending university bills
The bills of the universities including Senate Hill University, Globus University Kamalia, University of White Rock, Next Institute of S
cience and Technology, Nexis University Sialkot, ABWA University Faisalabad, Mukabbir University of Science and Technology Gujrat, South Hill University, Lahore Capital University, Imperial Tutorial College, Musarrat Institute of Technology, Sitara International University, University of Technology, Culture and Health Sciences Gujranwala, Asian University for Research and Advancement, AGN University, Ganj Shakar University, Royal University of Management, Information and Sciences, National University of Toba Tek Singh, University of Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Sciences, Orion International University, Akhuwat Institute Kasur, Ali Bin Usman Institute, and Crownridge University have been passed. The remaining two bills, Premier University Lahore and Panjnad University, are still pending.
Scholars raise red flags
Dr. Amjad Magsi, former president of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) and current president of the Punjab University Academic Staff Association, said that while no new public sector university bill was introduced during this period, one significant piece of legislation affecting both public and private universities was the Universities and Institutes (Amendment) Bill 2025. He noted that this legislation, which was passed by the Punjab Assembly and notified, drew strong reaction from faculty across the province because it mandates the inclusion of three sitting members of the provincial assembly in the syndicates of 
universities, including Punjab University, a move many academics view as political intrusion that undermines institutional autonomy and academic freedom. Another senior faculty member, who requested anonymity, said that unlike private institutions, public universities serve tens of thousands of students with subsidized tuition, transport, and facilities. He noted that Punjab University alone supports over 50,000 on‑campus students, allocating Rs406 million in 2025‑26 for scholarships, while also providing subsidized transport, hostels, and other services.
The official word on legislation
When contacted, Higher Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said his department had opposed all 25 private university bills presented in the Punjab Assembly. He attributed the surge in private members’ bills to delays in the approval process at the department and the PHEC, and said proposals had already been prepared to amend the relevant law to make the process more streamlined and time-bound. He said some of these have already been notified after approval from the Cabinet while rest are in the pipeline.
According to him, the objective was to discourage the use of private members’ legislation in this area. He said amendments were also being proposed to revise land requirements, including allowing private universities with smaller land holdings to develop vertically. He maintained that these steps were intended to ensure transparency and reduce procedural delays. He added that several privilege motions had been moved against him by fellow assembly members for raising these issues on the floor of the house.
Responding to a question, Rana Sikandar Hayat said that of the 23 private university bills passed by the Assembly, only five had so far reached his department, and formal notifications for the establishment of just two private universities had been issued to date.
