Accountability without Autonomy a Critical Inquiry: Why Regulatory Expansion in Pakistan’s Higher Education Undermines Faculty Empowerment

Abstract

This paper discusses the effect of the growth of regulatory authority in the Pakistani higher education system, which has resulted in a state of accountability without autonomy. Hereby the faculty is being increasingly demanded to comply with new rules and regulations and yet the institutions do not have sufficient authority to perform their professional functions. It was a Theoretical study that reviewed the previously available literature to reach the conclusion. It is concluded that the centralized control and bureaucratic pressures in Pakistan’s higher education have undermined faculty autonomy and quality-focused research. Sustainable improvement requires systems that empower and trust faculty as central agents of academic excellence. Reorient the Higher Education Commission toward outcome-based accountability by setting quality benchmarks while granting universities autonomy in curriculum, teaching, and research decisions.