Uniform governance structure on the cards for varsities

PHEC approves post-doctoral fellowships

LAHORE: The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) presented new projects to its governing body for approval on its 11th meeting on Monday.

The projects included indigenous post-doctoral fellowships, an international conference on higher education and plan to formulate a uniform governance structure for all the universities in the province.

The PHEC Commission approved the presented proposals in the meeting held under the chairmanship of PHEC Chairperson Dr Mohammad Nizamuddin. The moot was held at the PHEC Secretariat in Lahore.  During the meeting, the PHEC chairperson also briefed members about various initiatives undertaken by the commission.



The commission members appreciated the faculty development programmes, including the foreign PhD and foreign post-doctorate, international travel grants (ITGs) programme for colleges and universities of Punjab.

Dr Nizamuddin presented the proposal of indigenous post-doctoral fellowships to train faculty members of universities and colleges in order to broaden their academics and future career prospects. He also briefed the members about the commission’s split PhD Programme in collaboration with local universities. “Initially, an MoU was signed with Punjab University and Government College University (GCU) Lahore. The PHEC envisages extending the programme to all universities of the province.”

The commission lauded the vision and granted the approval to the Indigenous Post-doctoral programme for university and college teachers of Punjab.



The PHEC has also decided to organise an international conference for higher education roadmap.

It was proposed that the conference would be arranged in the first quarter of 2018, in which international experts and researchers would be invited to participate and deliberate on various aspects of the roadmap. A policy would be formulated accordingly on the implications/recommendations of the conference.

Moreover, another proposal in the meeting aimed to increase smooth coordination, management and productivity of universities. The commission members approved to formulate a uniform governance structure for all the universities, public and private, in Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2017.