LAHORE: A training programme for vice chancellors (VCs) of Punjab’s public and private universities has been launched under the auspices of Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC).
The opening ceremony of the five-day training workshop was held at a local hotel here on Monday with Dr Amjad Saqib, head of the Akhuwat Foundation, as the chief guest.
Higher Education Commission Secretary Syed Javed Bukhari, Punjab Higher Education Commission Chairman Prof Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid, members of the commission, heads of provincial universities and a large number of education experts attended the ceremony.
On the occasion, Dr Saqib said that the problems of Pakistan are more moral than economic and teachers should create a spirit of brotherhood and selflessness in students. “Universities need to focus on education and moral training and character building of students. The future of this country is in the hands of teachers. Teachers have to step out of their caste barriers and train students. Our job is to create a society in which everyone has equal opportunities for development and everyone has the right to live.”
The Higher Education Commission secretary said that universities need to create new knowledge as well as education, and improve the quality of public service. “The government is providing full support to the universities in this regard. The performance of universities is linked to performance of vice chancellors. We have developed key performance indicators. The government has introduced the Model Act for universities under the reform agenda, which has brought uniformity in financial and administrative matters,” he said.
Addressing the event, the Punjab HEC chairman said that the nature of teaching and administrative problems in the universities has changed due to coronavirus. “Universities are facing new challenges and only with effective leadership and management skills, universities can meet the emerging challenges in higher education. The five-day training programme aims to introduce new dimensions to the heads of universities to assist them in carrying out leadership and professional matters in line with modern requirements so that the problems can be dealt effectively. One of the purposes of the training workshop is for the vice chancellors to benefit from each other’s practical experience in administrative matters,” the chairman said.
He added that vice chancellors have a key role to play in universities for good governance. “This programme, in which the heads of private and public universities are participating, will help in the commitment to improve the financial and administrative affairs of the educational institutions and ensure the quality of education. The five-day training programme will acquaint the vice chancellors with various aspects and issues of leadership and management. The training programme will end on September 17,” Dr Fazal concluded.
