Growth of Journal Publishing in Pakistan: An Analysis of HEC recognized Journals
Keywords:
Academic Journals, HEC Recognized Journals, Journal Publishing in Pakistan, Higher Education Commission (HEC), HJRS, Research Quality, Indexing, Open Access, Scopus, Web of ScienceAbstract
One of the most important pillars in the publication of knowledge in the world has been thought to be academic journals publication. The scholarly journals provide channel through which researchers present their findings of research, and formulate theoretical points of view. The current research aims to explore the evolution and progress made in journal publishing in Pakistani higher education with a focus on HEC-recognized journals. Quantitative research approach was applied. Through the use of descriptive and exploratory research design, the research utilizes secondary sources of data. Analysis of journal publishing data given on the HEC website was conducted to examine growth. The findings indicate that the university-based journals continue to dominate numerically, the proportion of university-based journals dropped to 52%, as opposed to 81%, signifying a slow decline in the strength of university-based journals. The share of private or commercial publishers increased from 4% in 2020-21 to 38% in 2024-25. The share of accredited journals of government sector universities was 83% in 2020-21 but this decreased to 66% in 2024-25. to. The performance of private sector universities was good during the four years with percentage increased from 17% to 34%. The thesis concludes that the HEC policies have been very important for the development of journal publication activities within the country. The current research provides guidelines to the HEC for improving the growth of journal publishing to attain global recognition.
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