Planning minister says govt to help HEC build capacity of higher education institutes. PHOTO: PID
The alliance of higher education institutes of Pakistan and China represents the spirit of CPEC, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Prof Dr Ahsan Iqbal said on Monday.
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) meant Pakistan’s entry into global supply chain, he said addressing the inaugural ceremony of first Pakistan-China Forum on Higher Education, held at Air University, jointly organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and China Association of Higher Education.
Scholars from the higher education bodies of the two countries spoke at the one-day forum on Challenges of Equitable Access and Quality in Higher Education. Faculty and students from the universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi attended the session.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister appreciated the efforts of HEC for building CPEC University Alliance and CPEC Consortium of Business Schools.
“These efforts will help build collaborative linkages and intellectual connectivity which symbolise the spirit of CPEC,” he added.
He welcomed the Chinese scholars to Pakistan which he hoped would explore new avenues of mutual cooperation between the two countries.
The minister said that the government was fully supporting higher education commission which aimed at capacity building of existing higher education institutes (HEIs) to prepare suitable human resource for CPEC and promote cultural harmony between the two countries.
Earlier, in his welcome address, HEC Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali said higher education was not a goal but a pre-requisite in a knowledge-based economy.
The forum focused on three areas including national role and contribution in improving quality of higher education; ensuring quality with large-scale increase in access and balancing quality of higher education in diverse regions.]
The forum started with a welcome note from the Vice Chancellor, Air University, Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Faaiz Amir and a scholarly exposition of the theme by Lt Gen (Retd) Muhammad Asghar.
The leader of the Chinese delegation Xiaomei Wang highlighted the need for greater cooperation between the academia of the two countries. APP
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2017.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ