LAHORE: The Pakistan Civil Services Academy (CSA), Walton Campus, for the first time in its history trained senior officers of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), marking a new milestone in the Academy’s outreach to higher education leadership. The Cohort-IV training programme, titled “Strategic Professional Development for Public Sector Transformation”, concluded this week with the participation of Directors and Director Generals of HEC in grades 19 and 20.
The closing ceremony was attended by senior officials, with Federal Secretary, Ministry of Education and Professional Development and Acting Chairman HEC, Nadeem Mehboob, gracing the occasion as Chief Guest. Dr Noor Amna Malik, Managing Director of the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE), HEC, joined as Guest of Honour, while senior faculty members and participants were also present.
The event reflected CSA’s evolving role as more than just a training institution for civil servants. In his remarks, Dr. Syed Shabbir Akbar Zaidi, Director Capacity Building at CSA, explained the paradigm shift in the Academy’s training pedagogy, noting that the programme had been carefully designed to equip participants with skills for strategic transformation in the public sector. He described Cohort-IV not as a conventional training course but as a leadership development initiative that placed equal weight on technical modules, professional expertise, and attitudinal development. The inclusion of components on health and stress management underscored the Academy’s recognition that effective public leadership requires both intellectual and emotional resilience.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Noor Amna Malik thanked the CSA administration for its collaboration with NAHE and underlined the growing significance of institutional partnerships in Pakistan’s higher education sector. She noted that the role of HEC had transformed considerably after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, making capacity building of senior officers essential for navigating new policy and administrative challenges. Announcing that a Memorandum of Understanding between CSA and NAHE would soon be signed, she said the partnership would formalize regular joint initiatives and strengthen professional development opportunities for higher education officers. She congratulated both CSA and NAHE teams for the successful conduct of the programme and commended the participants for their active engagement.
The Chief Guest, Mr. Nadeem Mehboob, in his keynote address, praised the CSA for designing a comprehensive programme that combined strategic, technical, and personal development modules in a balanced manner. He emphasized that capacity building is not confined to enhancing professional knowledge but also entails broadening perspectives and preparing officers to think beyond routine administrative functions. Stressing the need to institutionalize such training collaborations, he observed that the higher education sector could not achieve sustainable progress without well-prepared leadership. He also urged participants to take forward the lessons learnt during the programme into their practical roles and to foster a culture of innovation and inclusivity in their institutions.
The certificates of completion were distributed among the participants, who expressed appreciation for the diversity and depth of the programme. The Director General CSA, in his concluding remarks, extended gratitude to the Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour for their support and encouragement. He observed that the training was unique in its focus on attitude and sensitization, qualities that are critical for leaders tasked with managing transformation in complex institutional settings. He reaffirmed the Academy’s commitment to strengthening its collaborations with key national institutions and wished the participants success in their future assignments.
The Cohort-IV programme thus not only marked the first time HEC’s Directors and Director Generals were trained at the Civil Services Academy but also set the stage for a long-term partnership between CSA and NAHE aimed at institutionalizing leadership development in Pakistan’s higher education sector.
