The newly appointed chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, has said that the regulatory body will encourage and support universities to impart quality education and carry out take research to play a proactive role in the socio-economic development of the country.
During his first media briefing after assuming charge of the HEC chairman, Dr Mukhtar said that the regulatory body will bring together universities, research organisations and other government departments to jointly work to find out solutions to the problems being faced by the country.
He said that the country was facing the issue of water depletion, flooding, food security, climate change etc and the higher education institutions must work to find solutions to cope with these challenges.
“Nations face adversities, however, they strive to rise up. We together have to steer the country out of these problems by prioritising our objectives and synergising for sectoral development,” he emphasised.
Stressing the need for being selective in areas for PhD studies, he said that the research carried out in universities and research centres must provide the solution to local and national issues.
The HEC chairman pointed out that the higher education sector was facing major challenges in quality, governance and technology readiness and the HEC will put more effort into continuous improvement in these sectors. He said that the HEC was committed to the mandate of enhancing access, improving quality and ensuring relevance by expanding the scope of higher education. He asserted that the government has shown its strong commitment to supporting the higher education sector despite challenges.
Dr Mukhtar hoped that the public and private sectors will jointly work to enhance their contribution to the development of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal asked the HEC chairman to align the higher education sector with modern trends and requirements while the curriculum of the varsities should be aligned with the job market.
The minister made these remarks during a meeting with the HEC chief at the ministry. The minister said that priority sectors and the best universities should be selected for scholarships abroad. He said that despite the economic crisis, ample funds have been provided to the HEC.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2022.
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