HEC chief vows to improve quality of education

Higher Education Commission's (HEC) chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said here on Monday that Pakistani universities are among the top 300 universities of Asia. "National University of Science and Technology (Nust) has ranked among the top 500 universities of the world," he added.
The HEC chief was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a four-day 5th International Symposium-cum-Training Course on Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (MMDR-5)that began here on Monday at Karachi University's International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS). Over 350 delegates, including 60 scientists from 28 different countries, are participating in the event being held under the aegis of Karachi University's Dr Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research (PCMD).
Reiterating that the HEC was trying its best to improve quality of higher education in the country, he said that efforts were also being made to help local educational institutions to improve their rankings on the basis of their quality education.
Although Pakistan was passing through a crucial time, scientific activities were still continuing in the country, he said, adding that the increasing number of research papers annually, quality of education and international ranking of institutions showed that the country was moving in the right direction.
Karachi University's vice chancellor Professor (Dr) Muhammad Qaiser said that the PCMD was playing pivotal role in the sphere of molecular medicine and drug research. "It was heartening to note that a large number of scientists have come to the University from abroad despite the country is facing a law and order situation," he said, urging the young scientists to learn from the vast experience of scientists who have come here from abroad.
HEC's former chief Professor (Dr) Atta-ur-Rahman said that progress of any country depended on the positive policies and priorities of the government. Highlighting the earlier initiatives of the HEC in the field of higher education, he said that there were only 57 universities in the country in 2001, but their number has now swelled to 160.
Moreover, about 0.25 million students were enrolled in the varsities when HEC began its journey, but now the number of students in the country's universities had crossed 1.3m, he said, adding that Pakistani scholars were now producing 10,000 papers annually, whereas it was only 700 papers per annum in 2001. Besides, the country was now producing 1000 PhDs annually. Karachi University's Faculty of Science dean Professor (Dr) Syed Abid Azhar and ICCBS's director Professor (Dr) Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, also spoke on the occasion.