Dr Ahmed gave an overview of HEC’s efforts for developing human resource and providing state-of-the-art facilities to the higher education institutions. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) will begin sending up to 10,000 scholars to the United States from next year for PhD studies in critical areas such as agriculture and food security, medical and allied health sciences, energy, water, climate change, advanced digital technology.
Planning, Development, and Reforms Minister Ahsan Iqbal made this announcement while explaining the Pakistan-US Knowledge Corridor during a video conference with vice-chancellors of universities across the country, said an HEC press release issued on Wednesday.
HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed and Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali were also present.
The corridor was conceptualised in June last year as a result of the bilateral strategic dialogue of working group of the two countries on education, science, and technology, the government envisions enhancing enrolment in tertiary education up to five million by 2025 and outreach of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) at the district level. At this stage, universities are facing a shortage of 30,000 PhD faculty members.
The minister said that 10,000 PhDs educated in the US would give spectacular results. “The government is committed to increasing access to higher education and for that purpose sub-campuses and virtual campuses are being established at the district level so as to enable aspiring students to gain higher education at their doorstep.”
He said that the horizontal expansion would not be achieved at the cost of quality. He said that advisory service in universities would be established to hunt for talent, prospective students and be coached how to gain admission abroad, prepare research profile and counselled for admission.
Iqbal identified the main responsibilities of a university including instruction, quality research, creating knowledge, encouraging innovation and industry linkage for contribution to the economy and university community relationship. He also shared the recently setup Technology Innovation Fund which will enable new PhDs to carry out research and win a competitive grant to bring about economic impact.
Dr Ahmed gave an overview of HEC’s efforts for developing human resource and providing state-of-the-art facilities to the higher education institutions. He appreciated the Government for increase in higher education funding during the last three years.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2016.
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