Establishment of three technology universities in pipeline

Islamabad

Establishment of three technology universities is in the pipeline including National Skills University in Islamabad, KPK Technology University and another to be setup by Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).

The information was shared at the maiden meeting of the National Technology Council (NTC), an accreditation council established by Higher Education Commission (HEC) to monitor and accredit technology related degree programmes, held on Tuesday.

HEC Chairman Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed inaugurated the meeting held under the aegis of Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) of HEC Major General (r) Akbar Saeed Awan and Dr. Kausar Malik took charge as chairman and vice chairman of the council. The meeting was told that the Punjab Government has also shown interest in establishing a technology university.

The NTC is responsible for accreditation of educational programmes leading to degrees in technology disciplines. It will also take into consideration different aspects for accreditation of degree programmes in technology related subjects, including overall structure and scope of the programme, curricula, requisite infrastructure, faculty, level of compatibility with international standards and trends, level of skill development by the programme, level of integration of science and technology, student support, laboratory facilities, facilities for student activities and other amenities, financial assistance, level of job placement of graduates, etc. 

Different programmes whose accreditation will come under NTC's purview include, though not limited to, B-Tech Honors, BSc/BS Technology, Animal Production and Technology, Biotechnology, Medical Laboratory Technology, Emergency and Intensive Care Technology, Medical Imaging Technology, Dental Technology, Operation Theatre Technology, Mortuary Technology, Food Sciences and Technology, Nanotechnology and Information Technology. 

While inaugurating the meeting, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed hoped that establishment of National Technology Council will be of great help in streamlining all the technology-related education. He said that the council will also take care of technology courses other than engineering technology, and will be responsible for developing and implementing quality assurance criteria in all the respective disciplines.

The HEC chairman said that the commission will provide all possible support for smooth functioning of the Council. He appreciated Major General (r) Akbar Saeed Awan for accepting the challenge to lead the council and bring much-needed reforms and restructuring of the technology. He also appreciated other council members for their interest and participation. 

NTC has representation from HEC, Ministry of Science and  Technology, Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, Ministry of Industries and Production, Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Pakistan Engineering Council, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, National Agriculture Education Accreditation Council, National Computing Education and Accreditation Council, National Vocational and Technical Training Commission, Vice Chancellors of public and private sector universities offering technology programmes, one from each province including Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Federal Area.