Dissolution of the Pakistan Higher Education Commission (HEC) is feared to push higher education infrastructure into doldrums as the HEC can arrange collective wisdom at national level that is the essence of democracy, says Faisalabad Government College University (GCU) Associate Professor Lt Col (R) Muhammad Afzal Sipra who is also a laureate of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Military).
He predicted that in the absence of a central body, everybody would be beating his own drum and universities would be left directionless, causing a great national loss.
It was to be understood that two procedures were to be adopted to enhance the quality of education; quality assurance and quality control, he said, adding that the latter was being exercised by different councils like the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), Medical and Dental Council, Pharmacy Council and the Law Council.
“These councils exercise quality control to ensure that a university or college is equipped properly and follows proper procedures to enhance the quality education”, he said. “Based on my 33-year teaching experience, I have always found the HEC team very helpful in facilitating the department to enhance quality education”, he further said and added that their sole aim was to produce engineers of international quality thus helping the institution.
The HEC had standardised faculty requirements, curricula of various programmes, quality enhancement procedures and provided equal opportunities to the candidates proceeding for higher studies irrespective of clan, creed and colour”, he added.
The Britain graded our Bachelor of Arts (BA) equal to O level and Mater of Arts (MA) equal to A level before the creation of the HEC, he said. He added our education attaché in London launched a protest but the HEC took corrective action to launch 4-year honours programme at graduate level.
Previous government established one public sector university in one administrative division and they were being funded by the HEC since 2002, he said and warned that if they were not taken care of, they would die their own death.
Professor Sipra substantiated his position through statistics saying every thing is tangible; one has to count; the number of universities established, number of scholars doing PhD/MSc at home and abroad, number of papers published in the national and international journals, number of conferences attended by the educationists and professionals nationally and internationally, number of video conference rooms in universities, number of digital libraries, linkage of different universities through internet, number of new programmes started by the universities, number and quality of laboratory equipment, services of renowned national and international professors provided to the universities, funds provided to different universities for libraries, laboratories and research, the number of quality students produced for national international market, the number of universities recognised internationally before and after the creation of HEC. He said that Quaid-e-Azam University is within first 80 while NUST and UET Lahore are within first 500 universities of the world due to the support provided by the HEC.
Knifed policeman recovering at hospital: A seriously injured policeman is recovering at district headquarters (DHQ) hospital after he was stabbed by two suspects during a snap checking. Reportedly, a four-member police contingence from Tariqabad post of Peoples Colony Police Station was posted near Faisal Hospital at Canal Road for the checking of suspects.
They spotted two suspects walking on the canal bank and stopped them for identification. When Constable Sohail Anjum stepped forward to take physical search of the suspects, one of them took out a dagger and stabbed him.\ The colleagues of the injured constable Bilal, Kaleem and Akbar Ali did not intervene to arrest the suspects who escaped on foot while the Rescue 1122 took the victim to the hospital after the first aid.
COURT BAILIFF RECOVERS WOMAN CHAINED BY HUSBAND: A court bailiff raided a house and freed a woman from the captivity of her husband who had chained her to stop her from following up a court case against him. The victim had moved a petition in the family court asking divorce from her husband.
Reportedly, victim’s brother Safdar Ali, a resident of Chak No 213 GB, pleaded Faisalabad District and Sessions Judge Ishtiaq Ahmed that his sister Fauzia Bibi, a mother of five children, was detained by her husband Noor Muhammad at his home in Chak No 615 GB.
He added that accused Noor Muhammad was furious because Fauzia Bibi had lodged a case in the family court asking for divorce from her husband due to frequent torture and mistreatment. The case was referred to Tandlianwala Additional Sessions Judge Tariq Javed who ordered Bailiff Iqbal Bhatti to recover the woman.
When the bailiff reached the house, the victim was chained and locked to a pillar. The court handed over the custody of the victim to her brother Safdar Ali until the next hearing.
