Focusing on practice: ‘Outcome-based education system needed’

Malaysian professor says Washington Accord must be followed for change

LAHORE: All the stakeholders must be taken on board to bring changes to curricula to have an education system in which outcome is given preference to. This was said by speakers on Monday during a two-day international workshop on Outcome-Based Education system.

Punjab Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghaus Pasha said educational reforms could bring the country on the path of progress and this would place Pakistan among economically empowered countries of the world. She stressed upon applied research so that the challenges of upcoming era can be faced.

A Malaysian professor, Dr Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor, said proper planning and utilisation of all available resources could improve the engineering education.

While quoting the example of the implementation of outcome based system in his country, Noor said Malaysia implemented the system in six years, which attracted the attention of people in the rest of the world. He said international agreements like the Washington Accord must be followed to bring changes in the education sector.

The Washington Accord, of 1989, is an international agreement signed between bodies responsible for authorising engineering degree programmes. The accord recommends that graduates of programmes be recognised by other bodies as having met the academic requirement for entry to the practice of engineering.

University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Vice Chancellor Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid said research-based planning produces long-term results and it was an accurate instrument to measure the success of a nation. He said UET had been endeavouring to implement the OBE system to produce engineers according to the requirements of national and international markets.

The workshop was arranged by the Quality Enhancement Cell of UET. Its inaugural session was held at UET Chemical Engineering Seminar Hall.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2016.