Chairman, Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Javaid R Laghari has called upon the University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, to offer its expertise in setting up more veterinary and animal sciences universities in all provinces. During a visit to the UVAS on Monday, the HEC chairman said there was a dire need to set up more such universities to tap the treasure of resources in the livestock and dairy development and agriculture sectors.
He said the UVAS had become a centre of excellence and it should act as a lead centre for the setting up of new universities. Lauding the achievements of the university, Dr Leghari said the UVAS' Ravi Campus must grow as a hub for the whole region. Palwasha Khan MNA, PPP, also visited the UVAS and attended the presentation given by the UVAS Vice- Chancellor.
Registrar UVAS Dr Kamran Aleem, Dean FVS, Professor Dr Muhammad Nasim, Dean FAP&T Professor Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, Dean Faculty of Bio Sciences Professor Dr Ijaz Ahamd, Dean FLSMB Professor Dr Muhammad Aleem, Dean FF&W Professor Dr Naureen Aziz Qureshi, and the directors and heads of the teaching departments of the UVAS attended the presentation. Dr Javed also visited the teaching departments of the UVAS and lauded the efforts of the Vice Chancellor.
The HEC chairman said the faculty members of universities must go for concrete research and translate it into market economy instead of fulfilling the requirements for promotions and strengthening their curriculum vitae. He assured that the HEC would continue to focus on imparting of quality education as well as development of quality faculty in universities.
He said the HEC was currently offering scholarships to 1,000 students and submitted a proposal to enhance the number of scholarships to 5,000 with the support of the USAID. Javaid also said that HEC would take strict action against those universities who will not take action against those involved in plagiarism and they were considering to stop funding of these universities. Vice Chancellor, UVAS, Professor Dr Muhammad Nawaz, assured the HEC chairman that the university would provide its full technical support for the setting up of new universities.
Giving a presentation about the university's vision, achievements and future plans, Professor Nawaz said the university was working to accelerate the development of innovative technologies for broad national benefit through partnerships with the private sector.
This vision would strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life, he added. He said the university would take technology from the laboratory to the stakeholders in the market. The Vice Chancellor informed Dr Javaid that a MoU has been signed with a private firm and soon it would provide the machinery of worth Rs 55 millions to 'UVAS Ravi Campus Pattoki'.
Explaining achievements in research, Professor Nawaz said the university had developed kits to detect milk adulteration, molecular characterisation of Nili, Ravi and Nili Ravi buffalo breeds for breed patent registration. He said the university was developing training and research centre for livestock marketing as well as in the process of developing dairy platform.
The HEC Chairman said that UVAS should further focus on meeting the needs and demands of the meat and milk in the country through its projects and research work. He added that the students of Pakistan are being facilitated by HEC through scholarships through every possible efforts of the HEC.