Decolonizing College Governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Autonomy Challenges in Curriculum, Evaluation, and Institutional Structure
The Autonomy Dilemma in Pakistani Colleges
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54938/ijemdss.2025.04.2.537Keywords:
Decolonization, Institutional Autonomy, Higher Education Governance, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Education Code 1935, Policy Reform, Path DependencyAbstract
This investigation focuses on structural and legal challenges that prevent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa colleges from being fully independent. These colleges function under a dual legal system, i.e., intermediate classes under Education Code 1935 and undergrad programs under University Act, that is weakening. The first part is governed by an old colonial law, while the other is related to a newer law. Such a legal framework has created jurisdictional chaos, aggravated by the overlapping mandates of several independent directorates and councils. Although the national policy envisions a unified rational system, ‘structural inertia’ and ‘bureaucratic resistance’ indeed maintain a resistance to this rationalization. Using the tools of historical and comparative analysis, in this study, the author asserts that the frameworks of colonialism, together with a deficient designed system, block the academic, administrative, and financial autonomy of these colleges. The paper ends with practical and concrete policy suggestions aimed to help the lawmakers in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa develop a legislative framework to govern the higher education system in the province in a decolonized and coherent way.
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