Proper vision, strategy needed to achieve educational excellence: Dr Atta-ur-Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Former Federal Minister for Science and Technology Dr Atta-ur-Rehman on Friday underlined the dire need of adopting a proper vision and strategy at the relevant levels for achieving excellence in the field of education.

Addressing the 3rd International Conference on Research and Practices in Education, organised by the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), he called for following development-model of China or Singapore to achieve real progress in the socio-economic sector.

The two-day conference, presided over by the AIOU Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Dr Shahid Siddiqui, was being attended by eminent local and foreign educationists. The keynote speaker at the inaugural session was Dr Chris Rasmussen, an eminent scholar from the United States (US).

The event was part of the research-based academic activities, being organised by the varsity on a regular basis. In his welcome address, Dr Siddiqui briefed the participants about the varsity’s achievements and its role in promoting research-based culture in the country. He spoke about the important role of the teaching community for ensuring quality education for students. The VC asserted that research must be linked to the community’s overall well-being.

Dr Atta-ur-Rehman lauded AIOU’s academic progress in the recent years, stating that the university showed excellent performance by generating new ideas and promoting healthy activities. He hoped that the varsity would continue its good performance to meet future educational challenges.

The formal federal minister further said that only knowledge-based society could push the country towards true development. While acknowledging that students and children were the real assets of the country, he said they must be facilitated in capitalising their potential and energies.

He said that a huge investment was made in education when he headed the Higher Education Commission (HEC), adding it paved the way for producing thousands of PhDs every year. It was a turning period in our educational sector, particularly in the field of science and technology, he said.

During his thought-provoking talks, Dr Rehman said that students must focus on their ability to innovate.  There should be an enabling environment for socio-economic development in the country, he added.

In his keynote address, Dr Chris Rasmussen spoke about the importance of collaborative partnership at the international level. He elaborated on how the collaboration could be made productive and result-oriented.

Addressing the participants, Dr Siddiqui said there was a need to revisit the idea of development by adopting a holistic approach. The educational institutions need to produce graduates who could serve the society through critical thinking and creative approach, he added. He was of the view that real change in the life of an individual and the society could only be brought about through innovation and creativity.

The major purpose of the conference was to provide researchers and practitioners a platform to present their recent work and to interact with fellows through a global community of scholars and intellectuals.

The conference was organised by AIOU Faculty of Education and covered wide-ranging issues regarding formal, non-formal, as well as special education from secondary to higher education level.