HEC aims to restore value of Pak degrees
Commission holds four-week online course for PhDs
PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The top regulator of higher education in the country is focussing on restoring the value of degrees and certificates issued by accredited Pakistani educational institutions.
This was stated by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri while speaking to the first cohort of 41 Interim Placement of Fresh PhDs (IPFP) fellows as they graduated from the inaugural National Faculty Development Programme (NFDP). The programme is a four-week intensive training course which was conducted online because of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
The graduating scholars are fellows of the IPFP programme funded by the HEC. It supports universities in obtaining the services of fresh PhDs for a year in anticipation of their recruitment to regular faculty positions.
The NFDP course was organised by the newly established National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE). It aims to provide new faculty with the practical skills and competencies they will need to become successful academics.
The deterioration in the quality of higher education in Pakistan is deplorable, Dr Banuri said adding, “the current focus of the commission is to re-establish the value of our degrees and certification.”
The HEC chairman emphasised that the real success of this programme will come from the work of participants in the times to come.
“Your success is not in getting this certificate. Your success, and our success, will happen when you provide an excellent education to your students, when you do first-class research, and when you help solve the problems that the country is facing. That will be the time to congratulate you,” he said.
Taking a leaf from Stephen Covey's bestseller, the chairman asked them to think about the seven habits of successful academics, including reading, writing, judging (or assessing), using scientific doubt, valuing time, pursuing excellence, and building a scholarly community.
Successful academics were avid readers and prolific writers, and it required sustained effort to acquire these habits, he said.
All academics are required to express their judgment, about ideas, about papers and books, about exam answers, about journal submissions, about students, and about candidates for selection, Dr Banuri dilated. “It is their fundamental role in society. They have to learn how to do so through constant hard work and practice.”
On the habit of scientific doubt, he said that without it there can be no science. The role of the academic is to pursue the truth and to separate truth from myths and fairy tales, he asserted, urging the scholars not to take things on face value. “Today, it is easy to fact-check assertions.”
Fifth, Dr Banuri said, they must learn to value time - theirs and that of others’. “Make a calendar, fix a schedule, and stick to it,” he said.
The HEC chairman highlighted that the sixth trait was the pursuit of excellence. “We have to ask ourselves daily if we are doing quality work, and how we could further enhance the quality of this work,” he said.
Finally, he said that scholars have to find fellow scholars, others who are interested in similar goals. All knowledge evolves in scholarly communities.
Earlier, in her welcome speech, NAHE Rector Dr Shaheen Sardar emphasised that the programme aims to provide a virtual, immersive, and integrated world-class learning experience that will prepare the participants for their academic careers.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2020.
The top regulator of higher education in the country is focussing on restoring the value of degrees and certificates issued by accredited Pakistani educational institutions.
This was stated by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri while speaking to the first cohort of 41 Interim Placement of Fresh PhDs (IPFP) fellows as they graduated from the inaugural National Faculty Development Programme (NFDP). The programme is a four-week intensive training course which was conducted online because of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
The graduating scholars are fellows of the IPFP programme funded by the HEC. It supports universities in obtaining the services of fresh PhDs for a year in anticipation of their recruitment to regular faculty positions.
The NFDP course was organised by the newly established National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE). It aims to provide new faculty with the practical skills and competencies they will need to become successful academics.
The deterioration in the quality of higher education in Pakistan is deplorable, Dr Banuri said adding, “the current focus of the commission is to re-establish the value of our degrees and certification.”
The HEC chairman emphasised that the real success of this programme will come from the work of participants in the times to come.
“Your success is not in getting this certificate. Your success, and our success, will happen when you provide an excellent education to your students, when you do first-class research, and when you help solve the problems that the country is facing. That will be the time to congratulate you,” he said.
Taking a leaf from Stephen Covey's bestseller, the chairman asked them to think about the seven habits of successful academics, including reading, writing, judging (or assessing), using scientific doubt, valuing time, pursuing excellence, and building a scholarly community.
Successful academics were avid readers and prolific writers, and it required sustained effort to acquire these habits, he said.
All academics are required to express their judgment, about ideas, about papers and books, about exam answers, about journal submissions, about students, and about candidates for selection, Dr Banuri dilated. “It is their fundamental role in society. They have to learn how to do so through constant hard work and practice.”
On the habit of scientific doubt, he said that without it there can be no science. The role of the academic is to pursue the truth and to separate truth from myths and fairy tales, he asserted, urging the scholars not to take things on face value. “Today, it is easy to fact-check assertions.”
Fifth, Dr Banuri said, they must learn to value time - theirs and that of others’. “Make a calendar, fix a schedule, and stick to it,” he said.
The HEC chairman highlighted that the sixth trait was the pursuit of excellence. “We have to ask ourselves daily if we are doing quality work, and how we could further enhance the quality of this work,” he said.
Finally, he said that scholars have to find fellow scholars, others who are interested in similar goals. All knowledge evolves in scholarly communities.
Earlier, in her welcome speech, NAHE Rector Dr Shaheen Sardar emphasised that the programme aims to provide a virtual, immersive, and integrated world-class learning experience that will prepare the participants for their academic careers.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2020.