Improving education: Promotion of research culture in varsities stressed

Education dept in collaboration with British Council plans training workshops for teachers.

MUZAFFARABAD: The Minster of Education for Colleges Dr Najeeb Naqi on Monday stressed the need for promoting research culture in universities to improve the standard of education.

He said this while addressing the closing ceremony of a six-day workshop on “Research Methodology” at the city campus of the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJKU) in Muzaffarabad on Monday.

The workshop was organised by the Institute of Languages at AJKU, in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) for faculty members of public sector universities and postgraduate colleges from December 6 to 12.

The minister said such workshops would promote research culture in the institutions of higher learning and consequently help in the promotion of quality education in AJK.

He also said that the Education Department plans to arrange teacher training workshops with the collaboration of the British Council in January 2011 where over 150 teachers will participate.

The minister promised that the AJK government will allocate funds for college teachers participating in such professional training programmes.

Speaking on the occasion, AJKU Vice-Chancellor Prof (Dr) Habibur Rehman said that the arrangement of such workshops focusing on modern methods of research will go a long way in producing healthy effects on the education sector of the state.

He expressed his gratitude to the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for arranging the event and congratulated the participants on successful completion of the training programme.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts Prof (Dr) Raja Nasim Akhtar, who conducted the workshop, felicitated the participants and thanked the HEC for its valuable collaboration.

More than 30 faculty members from AJKU and different postgraduate colleges of Azad Kashmir participated in the workshop.

The sessions of the workshop were conducted by Prof (Dr) Raja Nasim Akhtar, Dean Arts and Social Sciences at Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi; Prof (Dr) Samina Amin Qadir; Zafar Iqbal Khattak of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan; with the HEC’s Assistant Director (Statistics) Bashir Khan acting as the resource person.

The workshop aimed at enhancing the research capabilities of the faculty members. The participants of the workshop appreciated the efforts made by the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the HEC in arranging the workshop.

They were of the view that the organization of such workshops will promote research potential and help in the development of quality education.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2010.