‘Adept faculty, modern syllabus, good management key for quality education’

A prestigious educational institute should have outstanding faculty, good management and a syllabus which fulfils the need of the modern era and can bring positive outcomes for society, leading educationists said on Saturday.

Addressing a session titled ‘Building Educational Institutes of Excellence’ at the 9th Karachi Literature Festival, educationists highlighted various aspects that set prestigious centres of learning apart from others.

The keynote speakers included banker and economist Ishrat Husain, who has served as the director of Institute of Business Administration, Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, who has led the planning, building, and operation of the University of Central Asia under the Aga Khan Development Network, Wasif Rizvi, the founding president of Habib University, and Sabahat Rafiq, who works on developing a modern curriculum with Punjab Education Foundation.

Husain said the aim of founding IBA was to attract and motivate outstanding teachers and scholars because no institution in the world can function without outstanding faculty members. “We have provided all the basic facilities to researchers and faculties at IBA.”

Husain added that IBA is a platform where faculty members can teach, study and do research. “The initiatives taken by IBA attracted lots of scholars for research.” According to him, 64 foreign PhDs from all over the world are teaching at IBA.

Donors will only invest [in an institution] when they have assurance that the places getting the donations will deliver what they have promised, he said. “Therefore, transparency is the most important step which could attract donors for further financial support,” he added.

AKDN’s Shamsh Kassim-Lakha said the development of resources for men and women can bring the glory days of Ummah. “The main objective for establishing Aga Khan University was to serve Pakistan and Ummah,” he said.

He added that money is important for educational institutions, however, selecting students and hiring competent teachers also play a basic role in developing them. Sabahat Rafiq said millions of children were out of school in the country, which is an alarming situation. “We need to focus on developing content and curricula to bring development. We are facing lots of hurdles but if for once we deploy trained teachers in schools we would find positive results,” she said.

Habib University’s Wasif Rizvi said all great educational institutions in the world have the same things in common – a serious mission and a sense of service. “When we do things with responsibility, compassion and a sense of service, they make us greater,” he said.

He added Habib University has three distinguished qualities: best faculty, research facilities for advanced studies and criteria for the selection of undergraduate students.