ISLAMABAD: The newly appointed chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Prof Dr Tariq Banuri, said on Thursday that the purpose of the HEC was to invest in students and help them succeed.

While addressing faculty and students from Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) Rawalpindi, Dr Banuri outlined his vision for improving the higher education sector and said he would follow the policy outlined by the Steering Committee on Higher Education, which had led to the inception of the HEC.

“There is no policy change, as the HEC from day one has a clear set of objectives including focusing on access, quality and relevance,” he said, adding that the commission would evaluate the outcomes of programmes it has initiated in order to assess deficiencies and fill gaps.

“I want to see at least 10 universities fully autonomous at the end of my term, as this will be a start to the process of giving autonomy to higher education institutions,” he said.

He also announced that the National Academy of Higher Education would be made operational and would organise courses and train university faculty. Refresher courses will be organised for in-service teachers, he added, and new faculty members will be trained to improve their pedagogical skills.

The HEC chairperson added that his targets included ensuring a growing number of Pakistani faculty members become internationally recognised.

Other initiatives to be taken in his term include devising a transparent system using IT, pursuing gender parity in faculty and student enrolment and the revival of learned societies.

“My predecessors have invested a lot in a large number of areas and my task is to build upon their achievements,” he said.

However, the area of quality has suffered, he said, and requires attention.

“This is a national crisis that needs to be addressed urgently,” Dr Banuri said.

He also highlighted the need for relevance in research and recalled earlier efforts in this regard, such as offices for research, innovation and commercialisation, business incubation centres and so on. He also emphasised the need for increased budgetary allocations for education, and higher education in particular.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2018