Government
of Pakistan Appoints Task Force for Improvement of Higher Education
Last
April, the Federal Minister for Education, Zobaida Jalal, appointed
a Task Force co-chaired by Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President, AKU, and Syed Babar Ali, Pro-Chancellor
of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, to provide recommendations
for improvement of higher education in Pakistan.
 |
| His
Excellency the Governor of Sindh, Mohammedmian Soomro, addressing
the heads of public and private universities and colleges,
heads of selected higher secondary schools and chairs of Examination
Boards in Sindh, at a seminar on 'Improvement of Higher Education
in Pakistan'. |
Task
Force members include the Federal Secretary of Education, the Chairman of the University Grants
Commission, Dr. Camer Vellani, Rector, AKU, and nine vice chancellors
of public and private universities, so that lessons could be learnt
from their diverse and rich experiences.
Of
the six consultation seminars planned in the four provinces and
the Federal Capital, Islamabad, the Task Force has already held
two in Karachi and Quetta. The seminar in Karachi on June 19,
2001 was hosted by AKU, where members of the Task Force met with
heads of universities, degree colleges and higher secondary schools,
to discuss ways of improving higher education.
Some
75 heads and representatives of educational institutions and members
of the Task Force participated in discussion groups dealing with
such topics as efficiency and quality assurance, research, students
and alumni, governance and management, financial and physical
resources. Each group identified factors that could improve higher
education and presented its recommendations for discussion by
all participants.
Commenting
on the recommendations made by the working groups, the Finance
Minister of Sindh, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, stressed the need
to focus on a few pivotal changes in higher educational policies
that will have a significant impact on improving the quality and
correcting problems. He urged the Task Force to implement its
confirmed recommendations without waiting for the final report,
citing finance and governance as two critical areas for early
focus.
The
Governor of Sindh, Mohammedmian Soomro, stressed the importance
of merit-based selection of both students and faculty. He endorsed
the Finance Minister's comments and assured the support of his
government for implementing the recommendations of the Task Force.
Co-chair, Dr. Kassim-Lakha emphasised the need to recommend specific
and practical solutions for obstacles to improvement of higher
education.
The
seminar in Quetta was held on July 18, 2001 and its first session
was presided over by the Governor of Balochistan, Justice (Retd.)
Ameer-ul-Mulk Mengal, who assured his government's full support
to the Task Force in its efforts to improve higher education.
On the conclusion of the series of seminars, and following consultations
with Federal and Provincial authorities, the Task Force is expected
to submit its final recommendations to the Government of Pakistan
in December 2001.
