Pakistan, Nov. 9 -- Punjab's public universities face a question they can no longer postpone: what does the province receive in return for what it spends on them? On October 21, 2026, the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC), led by Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, convened vice-chancellors of public and private universities to review a nine-point agenda. The message was constructive: autonomy is not a favour to be demanded but a trust to be earned.

Harvard, MIT, Oxford and Cambridge flourish on deep academic, administrative and financial freedom. Harvard's endowment exceeds US$50 billion, MIT's tops US$20 billion, and Oxford and Cambridge hold billions of pounds. Yet none is unaccountable. British universities face national research asses...