As part of a Punjab University campaign to increase number of quality PhD teachers, Vice-chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran called a meeting of the non-PhD lecturers and assistant professors of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences on Monday. Over 40 teachers from both faculties attended the meeting.
The vice-chancellor motivated the teachers to get admission to foreign varsities as soon as possible. He told the young teachers that Rs 65 million has been fixed for the Faculty Development Programme and if required this amount would be increased up to 80 million. He said non-PhD teachers should get benefit out of this opportunity and besides this they should also apply for foreign scholarships and HEC scholarships.
Dr Mujahid Kamran said out of total 775 regular and contract teachers only 250 were PhDs with a 32 percentage, and PU was striving to increase this number. The meeting also discussed that some teachers were facing visa problems after their admission to the universities of United Kingdom and decided that a letter from the VC office will be sent to the Foreign Office and UK Embassy to get expedite the visa case of PU teachers.
The vice-chancellor urged the teachers to get admission to the varsities of China, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, Sweden and other countries where higher education was comparatively less expensive as compared to US and UK. The teachers currently doing PhDs in PU were offered that they, under split programme with foreign varsities, may do their research in foreign varsities where research work closely related to their subject was in progress.