Higher education: Former HEC chief slams ‘govt interference’

Convocations held at FC College and UMT.

LAHORE:

The Higher Education Commission is undergoing a “systematic destruction” via a “heinous conspiracy”, former HEC Chairman Dr Attaur Rahman said on Saturday, condemning the replacement of the commission’s executive director.

Speaking to reporters after the 8th Convocation of the University of Management and Technology, Dr Rahman said that an Establishment Division notification replacing Dr Sohail H Naqvi with Major (retired) Qamar Zaman, a former education secretary, was an attack on the institution’s autonomous status. “All administrative powers including over appointments lie with the commission,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court had ruled that the government must not interfere with the HEC.
“While HEC continues to be appreciated internationally for its integrity as a higher education institution, it faces much different treatment at home. We are our own worst enemies,” he said.
“Education and science and technology are largely being neglected by this government,” he said, noting that it had closed commissions on biotechnology and nanotechnology and halved the HEC budget.
He demanded that the prime minister reverse the appointment.

Earlier, nine hundred and ninety-nine students were conferred their degrees at the UMT convocation ceremony. Forty-three graduates were awarded medals for achieving distinction.

Addressing the convocation as the keynote speaker, Dr Rahman said the number of universities in Pakistan had increased from almost 50 universities in the early 2000s to 137. He said enrollment figures had increased 270, 000 in 2003 to 970,000 now. UMT Rector Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad awarded Dr Rahman the UMT Lifetime Achievement Award, which was introduced last year.

Four-hundred and ninety three of the graduates were from School of Business and Economics, 223 from the School of Science and Technology, 131 from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, 79 from the Institute of Audit and Accountancy and 73 from the School of Professional Advancement.

A convocation was also held at the Forman Christian College. FCC Rector Dr James A Tebbe bid farewell to 158 students who received their degrees at the convocation at the Sinclair Hall here on Saturday.

Addressing the convocation, Dr Tebbe said FC College (FCC) would celebrate 150 years of service to education two years from now. He said the college had 192 active faculty members, of whom 99 were PhDs. There were almost 3,000 students enrolled in their Baccalaureate programmes, 200 in MPhil programmes and more than 6,000 in their intermediate programmes. He said the varsity put importance to the promotion of women’s education with 34 per cent and 60 per cent of those enrolled in the baccalaureate and MPhil programmes, respectively, were women.

A total of 130 students graduated from the institute’s baccalaureate programme and  28 from its postgraduate programmes. Fifty-seven of these graduated with honours in the Bachelor of Science program and 48 obtained their honours degree in Bachelor of Arts programme. Seven students in the Intermediate programme received medals for distinctions in the programme, while another 15 in the Intermediate program received Certificates of Distinction for securing top three positions in specific disciplines in the Lahore BISE examinations.

FCC intermediate programme teacher Daniel Yousaf received the Outstanding Teacher Award 2012 from Dr Tebbe.

Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa was scheduled to deliver the convocation address, but was unable to due to political engagements.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2012.