Promotion of research: Nine varsities to get French grant

Priority research areas cover health, energy and education sectors.

 

Nine Pakistani universities get French research grants, it was announced .

A meeting of the joint committee of Pakistan-France PERIDOT Research Programme (Phase-II) was held at the HEC Secretariat, where approval of grant for nine Pakistani universities was announced.

The joint committee unanimously approved nine joint research proposals for funding in priority areas of health, energy, and education.

French Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs André de Bussy led the French team.

The programme aims to develop new scientific and technological cooperation between French and Pakistani higher education institutes and research laboratories by supporting the mobility of researchers.

Pakistani universities that have won the grant include the University of Karachi, the Balochistan University of IT, the Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta; the Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Lahore; the Hazara University, Mansehra; the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro; the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad; the University of Education, Lahore, the FAST-NU Lahore and the Islamia University, Bahawalpur.

Balochistan seek greater share in HEC budget

National Assembly members from Balochistan have demanded more funds for the province for its higher education sector.

A delegation headed by the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) Chairperson, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, met with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairperson, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, at the HEC Secretariat and expressed his concern over the limited number of scholarships for the students of the province pursuing higher education.



Issues pertaining to universities in Balochistan also came under discussion during the meeting, said a press release issued here on Monday. The HEC chairperson briefed the legislators about various initiatives taken by the regulatory body for promoting higher education in the province including different scholarships and research and development opportunities available for faculty members.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed informed the delegation that various universities had agreed to establish sub-campuses in different districts.

He said that the University of Balochistan would set up sub-campuses in Pishin and Dera Murad Jamali, the Lasbela University in Wadh, Khuzdar and the Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University in Naushki.

Dr Ahmed said Virtual University would set up sub-campuses in Dera Bugti, Harnai, Jhal Magsi, Qilla Abdullah and Ziarat.

He said that under a faculty development initiative for universities, 188 scholarships had been awarded and 63 scholars had completed their studies.

Under the human resource development initiative, a total of 1,256 scholarships have been awarded, while 2,494 were under process.

Similarly, a total of 2,515 need-based scholarships have been provided to the students of Balochistan since 2012.

Under the Prime Minister’s Fee Reimbursement Scheme, Rs763.307 million has been reimbursed to 30,585 beneficiaries from 2012 to 2016, the delegation was told.

Moreover, around 4,195 students from the province have received laptops under Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme.

The HEC has also taken steps for development of infrastructure in the higher education institutes of Balochistan.

The HEC has established a total of 259 academic and administrative blocks, libraries, hostels, faculty residences, student service centres, gymnasiums and other facilities.

Achakzai lauded the launch of the Education Testing Council, which will conduct free of cost tests for university admissions.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2016.