ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China on Monday agreed on people-to-people contacts through students and faculty exchange programmes to further strengthen the relations between the two countries.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmad and China Association of Higher Education (CAHE) President DV Yubo at the HEC.
Dr Mukhtar briefed DV Yuho about the role of HEC in the promotion of higher education and a research culture in Pakistan.
He shared the achievements made by the HEC since its inception in 2002.
He said that the HEC started its journey in 2002 with only 50 universities in the country. Owing to its struggles, the access rate to higher education had remarkably increased with the number of institutions reaching 188, he added.
Dr Mukhtar said that before the HEC, Pakistan had only 800 research papers published in impact factor journals, which had now reached 12,000.
He underlined that the HEC followed the “policy of no-compromise” on quality of education, which was why the quality of education had improved in the country.
The HEC, he said, emphasised the relevance of research in view of national requirements. In that regard, it had developed Technology Development Fund to promote research compatible to the country’s needs.
The CAHE president acknowledged the progress made in the higher education sector in Pakistan and took a keen interest in the initiatives taken by the HEC for the purpose.
Endorsing the idea of the HEC chairman regarding the exchange of students and faculty as well as joint research programmes, he said it would help the students and faculty learn about cultures in addition to learning and producing fruitful research.
