Faculty development : Education termed key to national uplift

Senator Mushahid Hussain says equal opportunities to all need to be ensured

ISLAMABAD: Learning is a continuous process and professional development of faculty is beneficial not only for teachers but also for students, said Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed on Tuesday.

Speaking at the concluding session of a conference entitled Professional Development in Higher Education: Trends and Practices, Prospects and Innovations, he underlined that provision of education needs to be ensured along with availability of equal opportunities to all men and women.

Every civilised society gives due esteem to teachers, he said at the conference which concluded at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat.



Mushahid informed the conference participants that the vacant posts of Pakistan Chairs, specified for Pakistani academics to serve the country from abroad, are being filled with the cooperation of HEC after a long wait for seven years.

The biggest battle, he observed, is the battle of ideas, and it is academia where ideas come from. So, Mushahid stressed, academia should come forward to serving the country amidst the prevailing information warfare.

HEC Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali stressed the need for promoting student-centric learning, as students come from different backgrounds as well as different competencies.

HEC Learning Initiative DG Fida Hussain said the recommendations made during the conference include finalisation of roadmap regarding faculty development, designing of faculty development programmes, revision of pedagogy and learning from professional development.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2018.