HEC chairman decries declining education standards

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Expressing concern over the quality of education in the country, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan chairman, Dr Tariq Banuri, said there is currently a crisis of quality education in the country which is evident from the fact that only less than 300 aspirants could pass the written tests for the Central Superior Services (CSS).“Graduates who appeared in the competitive examinations had easily passed our exams but couldn’t qualify the competitive examination,” he said. “It is a matter of tremendous concern.” The HEC chairman expressed these views on Monday during his visit to the Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU). He urged the teachers and students to focus on quality education.Dr Banuri said at least 3 million youths of Pakistan between the age group of 18 and 27 were enrolled at universities. “The number of students is constantly increasing,” he said, adding that only less than 3 per cent of the youth was enrolled in universities across Pakistan when the HEC was formed in 2002.“We did not have a son of a farmer or a carpenter in the universities but the situation is entirely different now,” he maintained. “It is a kind of cultural change and we will have its positive impact on overall society.”The HEC chairman also stressed the need for improving undergraduate programmes. “All the money will be focused on undergraduate programmes [now],” he announced, saying that it would help poor students get high quality education.“We want no child to be left behind. If our students are successful, our country will be successful,” he remarked. The National Academy of Higher Education was in the process of formation, Dr Banuri said. He added that research lacks right direction. “We want the research programmes focused on the national problems.”Sharing the new projects of the HEC, he said all students enrolled in the graduate programmes needed to register themselves with the HEC so that a uniform system for all the students pursuing their education and professional careers could be built.One the issue of financial crunch being faced by the varsities, the HEC chairman said he was trying to fix the problem. Dr Banuri explained that the HEC did not discriminate among varsities when it distributed funds among them. “There is a formula and we are bound to follow that,” he said.SMIU Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh also spoke on the occasion. He said the universities were facing financial challenges and expecting from the HEC chairman to resolve the issue.“The quality of education is not up to the mark,” Dr Shaikh said, adding a large number of graduates failed to secure even passing marks in any examination. “We as faculty members are more responsible for addressing the issue,” he asserted.The VC also highlighted the issue of the declining quality of PhD scholars. “Now, we should focus on undergraduates instead of low standard PhD scholars,” he said. “The research has gone in no direction,” Dr Shaikh said. “It should be more specific towards Pakistan.” The VC also called for preserving the autonomy of the varsities. “The universities should be allowed to grow independently,” he said.

from The News International - Karachi https://ift.tt/2mrTmYJ
The News International - Karachi