VC-Governor Meeting Staged for new Educational Charter

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Suleman Tahir (Vice Chancellor, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Technology, KFUEIT), called on Ch. Muhammad Sarwar (Chancellor/Governor Punjab) here today on January 22, 2020, at the Governor House, Lahore.

During the meeting, various matters related to the professional development of the teachers, training workshops, seminars, conferences, advancement in Information technology and the practical role of universities for the development of a prosperous society were discussed. Ch. Muhammad Sarwar appreciated the vision of Dr. Muhammad Suleman Tahir and assured his fullest support in this sacred mission of improving the quality of higher education in South Punjab.

The governing bodies of universities are likely to be even more important in the future, given the extra responsibilities they are being expected to take on. The Governor further said, “Times are changing – and university boards need to understand what their executives are doing about it”. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Suleman Tahir elucidated that, in his first year he has perceived his early university experience as Vice Chancellor “excellent”, by controlling the factors such as discipline, management, and provision of resources, longitudinal study programs showed better retention rates.

Both sides in the meeting placed a great emphasis on human development in university’s motto, the province appears to be poised to address the higher education challenge. Chief Minister Punjab has also promised to put in place “the most ambitious education agenda in the Province’s history, spanning reform of curriculum, the advent of Information Technology, PhD Scholarships, vocational, and special education. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Suleman Tahir said that the incumbent administration has implemented reforms agenda based on rule of law, merit,
transparency and accountability since he assumed the office, ensuring a landmark increase in university’s ranking through the promotion of research and making progress in all disciplines. He further added that for promotion of research culture, KFUEIT had adopted research-friendly policies due to which the volume of quality research of the university would be increased in the near future.

The Vice Chancellor validated the structural issues and challenges faced by universities in Pakistan. He pointed out the need to ensure the academic and non-academic support to be sufficiently well resourced by institutions. He said Province needs to develop a world class higher education system. Such a system would be student centered rather than institution-centered. It would be comprised of certified and caring institutions that have the resources required and the core mission of ensuring that students acquire the knowledge / Skills Abilities and dispositions that they need to achieve their individual goals and to maximize their contribution to society.

The Honorable Governor, Punjab and the Vice Chancellor agreed on the foregoing conditions, all eyes are on ‘us’ to address the key challenges and problems faced by the higher education sector. In this first meeting both the parties highlighted the importance of a knowledge economy, youth empowerment and strengthening higher education.
The meeting represents a good beginning and a sound vision. For Punjab especially South Punjab to excel on the world stage, it needs to use that framework to reach high. It needs to have the end goal of making Pakistan’s higher education system world class.