ISLAMABAD, NOV 9 /DNA/ – The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan, through its Education Testing Council (ETC), convened Phase-I of the Subject Committee Meeting of the Higher Education Aptitude and Achievement Test (HAAT) 2026. The meeting marked a decisive step towards establishing HAAT as Pakistan’s national standardised admission test for PhD programmes, with assessment designs for 48 PhD disciplines finalised during the day’s deliberations.
The Education Testing Council (ETC) of the Higher Education Commission commenced work on HAAT in May 2026. Since then, ETC has been working in close coordination with the subject matter experts of the 48 subject committees to develop discipline-specific test designs and Tables of Specifications, ensuring that each assessment reflects current academic content and the requirements of graduate-level research. The Subject Committee Meeting of 5 November 2026 brought this six-month process to the approval stage and marks the culmination of the first phase of HAAT development.
The meeting brought together more than 250 participants, including subject matter specialists, along with Vice Chancellors, senior academicians and ETC technical specialists, representing 81 public and private universities from all four provinces including Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Chairman HEC Dr. Niaz Ahmed Akhtar graced the occasion as Chief Guest and formally inaugurated the meeting. In his address, the Chairman illustrated the importance of a standardised, transparent and merit-based assessment framework for graduate admissions, particularly for PhD programmes, and stressed that a uniform national benchmark is essential to identifying and nurturing research talent across the country.
Welcoming the participants, CEO ETC Dr. Muhammad Imtiaz Haider, presented an overview of the HAAT programme, its objectives and the roadmap for its implementation. He informed the house that subject committees have been constituted for 89 subject disciplines to develop the test, which will be mandatory for PhD admissions across Pakistan.
In an expert presentation, international assessment expert Dr. Arnold J. Brouwer, Director, Research Centre for Examination and Certification (RCEC), Cito, the Netherlands, highlighted the importance of standardised testing for graduate admission at the national level and its role in strengthening national assessment systems. HEC-ETC extended special appreciation for his valuable contribution.
During the technical sessions, the subject committees held detailed deliberations on the proposed test designs and Tables of Specifications, with particular focus on academic relevance, consistency and alignment with graduate-level education requirements. The committees approved the test designs and Tables of Specifications for their respective subjects and signed the minutes of their meetings, while faculty members shared valuable observations and recommendations to further strengthen the test. Through these deliberations, assessment designs for 48 PhD disciplines were finalised.
The meeting concluded with a certificate distribution ceremony led by the CEO, Education Testing Council,
The initiative reflects HEC-ETC commitment to uniform assessment standards, stronger academic collaboration and meaningful participation of universities in building a credible national testing framework. This milestone marks a significant step towards a standardised, transparent and uniform system of graduate-level assessment in Pakistan. HEC-ETC remains committed to advancing quality, transparency and merit-based opportunities in the country’s higher education sector.
In recognition of this milestone, Vice Chancellors and senior officers of the participating universities pledged their support to this long-awaited national initiative and to the successful implementation of HAAT across the country.
