publishing programme accreditation reports on Councils’ websites, publicity of QAA’s and Councils’ policies for parents/students alerts.
It was decided that meeting of heads of all accreditation councils will be held at least once a year while the Sub-Committee will meet twice a year to discuss progress on the agreed issues and further strengthen coordination between HEC and the accreditation councils.
Most of these accreditation councils have already signed MoUs with HEC for revamping and strengthening process of accreditation of programmes in the respective disciplines, while the remaining councils agreed to sign MoUs on priority.
Another important issue discussed in the meeting was the impact of zero visits upon institutional and programme accreditation. It was emphasised that zero visits should not be taken as a go-ahead signal for launching any Programme but will be considered as Gap Analysis visit. Any University/Degree Awarding Institution will be allowed to launch a Programme only after meeting all the requirements. HEC will extend full support to all Councils in developing their Programme Evaluators capacity by providing them relevant trainings and capacity building workshops on a regular basis.
It was also agreed that each accreditation council will hold national as well as international conferences in their respective areas to bring stakeholders on one platform as well as learn from international practices. Another important decision was holding of national conference by HEC to be attended by all the accreditation councils and Quality Enhancement Cells (QECs) of the country, brining all stakeholders, responsible for quality of higher education, on one platform so that they align their objectives and work in close coordination.
Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, HEC Chairman, chaired and inaugurated the meeting, organised by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) of HEC. The Councils whose Chairmen, Presidents and Registrars attended the meeting included Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Pakistan Council for Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC), Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC), Pharmacy Council of Pakistan (PCP), Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC), National Council for Homoeopathy (NCH), National Accreditation Council for Teachers Education (NACTE), National Agricultural Education Accreditation Council (NAEAC), National Computing Education Accreditation Council (NCEAC), and National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC).