ISLAMABAD – The Government of Pakistan has submitted a formal request to the World Bank for a fourth restructuring of the $393.73 million Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) project. The aim is to secure a four-month extension, allowing critical IT and related digital infrastructure projects in universities to reach completion.
Now in its sixth year, the HEDP was initially designed to boost research excellence in key economic sectors, improve teaching standards, and strengthen the governance of Pakistan’s higher education ecosystem. However, procedural delays and logistical hurdles—such as slow delivery of IT hardware at ports—have held back progress on several vital technology initiatives.
The Economic Affairs Division has requested the new closing date to be extended to October 31, 2025. The extension will permit finalization of five major IT-related packages currently at an advanced stage of execution. These initiatives are central to the government’s digital education transformation strategy and are expected to produce significant long-term impacts that extend beyond the project timeline.
Despite these delays, the overall project progress has been rated as “moderately satisfactory” by the World Bank. Key achievements so far include the award of dozens of competitive research grants, national faculty training programs, and the expansion of the Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN), which now links 300 higher education institutions. Additionally, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has launched several core policy reforms, including the Undergraduate Education Policy and the Open Distance Learning Policy.
Financially, the project has already disbursed $375.70 million as of June 10, 2025, from the International Development Association (IDA) credit facility. This includes $319 million disbursed against Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs) and $56.70 million under the Investment Project Financing (IPF) component. The final installment of $12.3 million under the PBC structure has been approved and is under processing, while the remaining balance for the IPF will be disbursed in fiscal year 2026.
Importantly, this latest restructuring does not involve any changes to the project development objectives, key indicators, or governance arrangements. No revisions are being made to the implementation or monitoring frameworks, and all financial, environmental, and procurement systems remain fully intact and compliant.
This marks the fourth restructuring of the HEDP. The first occurred in June 2021, largely in response to COVID-19, which led to the creation of a new project component to support remote learning and boost university financial autonomy. The second, approved in June 2023, reallocated funds towards new rounds of Rapid Technology Transfer Grants (RTTGs) with a focus on emergency response and climate resilience. The third restructuring in April 2024 extended the project timeline by a year and redirected funds to IT infrastructure and a graduate employment tracer study.
With the new proposed October 2025 end date, the government and World Bank hope to conclude the project with its core digital transformation goals fully realized, setting a foundation for Pakistan’s higher education system to evolve into a more technologically integrated and globally competitive sector.