The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has announced to organise a special training programme for the vice chancellors of higher education institutions from various Islamic countries.
The announcement was made by the HEC Chairman Dr Javaid R Laghari while addressing the concluding ceremony of the Second Orientation Workshop for newly inducted vice chancellors/institutional heads under the Modern University Governance Program for University Management at HEC Islamabad.
Laghari said that the idea has already been discussed during the recent meeting of higher education ministers of Islamic countries held at Sudan. The innovative training programme would greatly help improve professional development through latest tools, techniques, best international practices, bringing about holistic reformation in university governance and leadership of the Islamic world.
He said that the HEC, along with its stakeholders including vice chancellors, faculty and students, would continue the journey of nation building and contribution towards socio-economic development of the country.
“The international recognition of decade-long achievements of Pakistani higher education sector is the outcome of dedicated hard work and consistent efforts put in by the management and faculty of Pakistani universities and HEC employees,” he said.
He also underlined the importance of continuous faculty training programmes for improving the quality of teaching and research in the higher education sector of Pakistan, and assured the utmost cooperation of HEC in this regard.
HEC Director General (Learning Innovation) Noor Amna Malik said that the main purpose of the orientation programme was to share HEC initiatives with the universities’ leadership and sensitising them to implement higher education reforms in the universities.
She informed that under the Modern University Governance Programme of the HEC, 735 university administrators had benefited since 2007 so far.
A number of vice chancellors who have recently joined their offices attended the programme. The divisional heads of HEC briefed the participants about various HEC programmes and how universities could take benefit of such initiatives.
The workshop also provided forum to the leadership of higher education sector to share their ideas, vision, and mission regarding model university governance. Senate Chairman Nayyar Hussain Bukhari inaugurated the workshop.
The leadership from top ranking British universities also interacted with the vice chancellors through video conferencing on the topic of “Good Governance in 21st Century for Universities.”
They shared their leadership and management experience with the workshop participants. The others topics included audit and financial management of higher education institutions, public sector planning, development and networking with government organisations.
The vice chancellors in their remarks termed the orientation programme useful, informative and successful. They also assured their utmost cooperation to the HEC leadership for improving the quality of education in Pakistan. They suggested that similar training programmes should be continued in future as well.
Laghari also distributed souvenirs among the participants of the workshop.
