HEC chief for producing graduates who are also good humans

We have produced graduates, but we need to focus on also making them good human beings and citizens; otherwise, we will continue facing the challenges of intolerance in our society, said the chairman of the Higher Education Commission on Thursday. 

“Muslims were the pioneers of science and technology. The West learned all sciences from Muslim scientists and scholars and now they are ahead of us in science and technology,” Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said while addressing a seminar titled ‘Role of HEC in promotion of higher education in Pakistan’. 

The event was organised by the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi, at the Arts Auditorium.

The HEC chairman observed that teachers were blessed as they were given the task of prophecy; they were on the path to serve and nurture humanity.

“We need to ponder over our roles that we play in the society. Looking around, the sight is painstaking as the Muslim Ummah in the world is suffering.” 

Commending the performance of research scholars, Dr Ahmed said research publications by Pakistani scholars’ had reached 12,000, which depicted the scholarly level of our research scholars and faculty.

“I am here to fill the communication gap between the HEC and faculty of Karachi University, listen to their grievances and propose the best possible solution by healthy discussion.”

Describing the history of the HEC, he said that in 2001, the government constituted an institution where representatives from each province were taken on board to look into the matters of education, and that eventually resulted in the formation of the High Education Commission to act as a facilitator to play the role of social-economic development.

He said universities were responsible for three key points: imparting, creating knowledge and transferring knowledge. Currently, he added, the HEC dealt with 184 universities and degree-awarding institutions, the equity rate is 48 percent to 52 percent. He claimed that a tremendous rise in the access and publication rate had taken place in the last few years.

Moreover, he said, Pakistan’s research citations were more than those of Brazil, Russia, India and China and if the trend of the last few years was observed. “The degrees issued by the HEC are recognised worldwide and is aligned now with the American system, which certainly took time to evolve.”

Dr Ahmed also claimed that the HEC was often misquoted and misunderstood as an institution comprising a few hundred clerks sitting in Islamabad and formulating policies. In fact, he said, the HEC encompassed all the faculty of universities who contributed to the policy formulating process and all were taken on board for any improvement.

Speaking of the role of teachers, he requested the faculty to take a serious note of the prevailing conditions and heartbreaking events happening in universities throughout Pakistan, which, he said, was definitely the result of lack of tolerance and differences in students.

“Teachers must play the part of nurture in classrooms along with imparting education. Scholars, parents and teachers are the components of society responsible to bring change. We need to play our part and leave the rest. Research, if not utilised for societal development and mankind’s benefit, is useless.” 

KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan, the deans of all faculties, Benazir Bhutto University Lyari Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Akhtar Baloch and others were also present on the occasion.