PHEC’s strategy to improve varsities ranking

LAHORE: In its effort to enhance the visibility of higher education institutions of Punjab on the global ranking radars – Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE)—Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) has come up with a comprehensive strategy, focusing specifically on indicators of the two ranking systems.

According to a press release, this was briefed by the Director General (Quality Assurance & Accreditation) Ms Zia Batool during a meeting on capacity building of universities for improved international rankings. The meeting which took place at PHEC Secretariat was co-chaired by Minister for Higher Education, Raja Yasir Hamayun Sarfraz and acting Chairperson PHEC & Secretary HED, Punjab Momin Ali Agha.

Giving the detailed briefing on the proposal to bring the local universities on a par with international quality benchmarks, Ms Zia Batool said strategy would be executed phase-wise: in the initial phase, PHEC, on the basis of previous ranking reflections, discipline diversity, and geographical proximity, had identified nine universities- eight public and one private.

The select universities would be equipped with training on ranking attributes and relevant technical assistance in line with the needs of local universities so that they could make it to the individual ranking positions assigned by these ranking agencies.