Punjab Higher Education Commission Chairman Professor Dr Nizam uddin has said that there was a dire need for training teachers to impart quality education and produce highly educated students for the development of nation as well as country. He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of newly-constructed building for Faculty of Education (FoE) with the funding of USAID at New Campus.
PU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasir, USAID Mission Director John Groarke, Lahore College for Women's University Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Rukhsana Kausar, Dean Faculty of Education Professor Dr Mumtaz Akhtar, Director Institute of Education and Research Professor Dr Rifaqat Ali Akbar, senior faculty members and a large number of students were present on the occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, Dr Nizam said that PHEC had launched a comprehensive program for training teachers and Faculty Development Academy had been established for equipping teachers with modern teaching skills. He said that the establishment of new building for teachers' education was a big contribution of USAID. He said that the government would strengthen teachers training program because if we wanted to progress, we must have quality teachers.
USAID Mission Director John Groarke said that USAID was working on improving educational standards in Pakistan. He said that USAID was proud of funding this project and the building had been constructed with a total cost of USD3 million. He said that ideal laboratories, classrooms and other related facilities had been provided to the teachers and students in the new building. He said that the project would result in producing quality teachers. He said that USAID would continue playing its role in providing leadership in education sector that would play its role in the development of higher education and prosperity of Pakistan.
Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasir said that the United States had played important role in the development of Pakistan. He said that USAID had tremendous contribution towards education sector in the country and this building was one of the best examples of USAID's financial assistance in education sector. He said that USAID had provided a lot of scholarships to Pakistani students for pursuing higher studies in the United States. He advised the students to get benefit from the knowledge corridor project and do their PhDs from top-ranking US universities. He said that PU would spend its resources on producing quality teachers for development of the country. He said that Institute of Education and Research had produced 90 M Phil and 131 PhDs so far.
IER Director Dr Rifaqat Ali Akbar said that IER was the oldest partner of USAID since 1959. He said that the people of USA had made great contribution for teachers' education in Pakistan. He said that the new building would open new horizons for quality of teachers' education in Pakistan. He said that if we wanted to raise standard of the nation, we must focus on imparting quality education to teachers. He said that IER was producing best graduates for nation building. Earlier, USAID Mission Director Mr John Groarke and Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Zaffar Mueen Nasir inaugurated the building.