Workshop for teachers of Balochistan universities ends

Islamabad
Aimed at keeping university teachers abreast with current trends, a professional development workshop for faculty members of Balochistan universities concluded here on Friday.
The workshop was organised by the Inter-University Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences (IUCPSS) and Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) in support with the National Testing Service (NTS) Pakistan and the Government of Balochistan. Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo graced the occasion as chief guest.
The main objectives of the master trainer workshop was updating university teachers about current trends in knowledge disseminating in areas such as curriculum development, assessment and evaluation, micro-teaching and research methodology, academic writing, classroom management, communication and presentation skills. Around 22 faculty members belonging to five public sector universities of Balochistan attended the workshop.
Besides training based on modules, the participants interacted with top policymakers and enjoyed a detailed discussion on issues faced by the country, especially challenges of education sector. The participants interacted with the acting president of Pakistan and Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani. They also met Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal.
Under the supervision of IUCPSS National Coordinator Murtaza Noor, the participants also prepared detailed short- and long-term plans for carrying out similar workshops and related activities in their respective universities.
Speaking on the occasion, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo expressed hope that the faculty of the province would benefit from the workshop and share knowledge and techniques with their colleagues. He said that education is a priority of the Government of Balochistan.
The Balochistan Assembly speaker underlined the importance of inter-provincial experience sharing and effective coordination in higher education sector to bring the youth of all provinces closer to one another. He, on behalf of the government and people of Balochistan, extended thanks for announcement of 50 PhD scholarships by the CIIT, award of need-based scholarships by NTS and reservation of seats for the students of Balochistan by the inter-university consortium at its member institutions.
Inter-University Consortium Chairman and University of Haripur Vice Chancellor Dr. Nasser Ali Khan said that the consortium with its partner organisations would continue to work with the Balochistan Government and universities through faculty and student exchange and expertise sharing. He announced fee waiver for the students of Balochistan at Haripur University and other consortium member institutions.
CIIT (Islamabad) Rector Dr. S M Junaid Zaidi assured that they would continue to support such initiatives in future as well and every possible cooperation will be extended to the government and youth of Balochistan for strengthening higher education and overcoming shortage of skilled human resource in Balochistan.
Sharing their remarks regarding the workshop and stay at Islamabad, the participants termed their experience very useful and appreciated the efforts of organisers and the Government of Balochistan for providing the opportunity. They suggested that such programmes should continue on permanent basis.
Earlier, Faculty Development Academy Director S M Junaid shared the background, objectives and proceedings of the workshop. In the end, the Balochistan Assembly speaker distributed certificates among participants.