By Hamid Khan Wazir
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Speakers at the Consultative Meeting of Vice-Chancellors of Pakistan blamed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for not taking all stakeholders, especially Vice-Chancellors of Universities, onboard while making policies regarding higher education during the last two or three years.
The Consultative Meeting of Vice-Chancellors of Pakistan on “Emerging Trends and Challenges of Higher Education” was jointly arranged by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) in Islamabad on Monday.
Vice-Chancellors across the Country participated in the meeting physically as well as online.
While delivering a welcome address, the VC AIOU Professor Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum thanked all the worthy guests to gather for a noble cause and highlighted the objectives of the meeting.
While addressing the Inaugural Session of the Conference, the Speakers discussed the development of higher education in Pakistan, education and employment, the COVID-19 epidemic and educational activities, and the needs of the Country in detail and demanded that HEC should take universities, teachers, and even students on board and get their feedback.
They said that for the last two to three years, the key stakeholders of the country’s higher education have been kept away from the consultative process, which has done great damage to the country in general and higher education in particular.
They said the consultative process needed to determine what kind of research the country needed at the moment, what subjects universities should focus on, and how to ensure employment for graduates. Can make
The meeting was arranged to discuss and evaluate the undergraduate and graduate policies formed by the HEC in the recent past and issues in higher education, consisted of four thematic sessions.
The First Session on HEC Undergraduate and Graduate Policies was chaired by the Chairman PHEC Professor Dr. Fazal Ahmad Khalid, and Professor Emeritus AIOU, Dr. Mahmood ul Hassan was the keynote speaker.
The VC University of Education in Lahore chaired the Session on “Future of Higher Education.
The Session on “Technology-Based Governance and Instructional Management was chaired by the VC University of Haripur Professor Dr. Anwar-ul-Hassan Gilani.
The Last Session conducted on “Information Influence as a Global Challenge” was chaired by the VC Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) in Multan Professor Dr. Mansoor Akber Kundi.
The Chairman Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) Professor Dr. Khalid Mahmood Khan was the Chief Guest.
The Vice-Chancellors congratulated the Vice-Chancellor of Allama Iqbal Open University, Professor Dr. Ziaul Qayoom, and the Vice-Chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University Professor Dr. Muhammad Ali for convening the Conference despite the current dire situation of COVID-19.
After extensive discussions on selected topics at the conference, recommendations were prepared which will be forwarded to the government later.
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