KMU-QEC 1st International Conference on Quality Assurance begins

Mr. Syed Zafar Ali Shah Secretary Higher Education Department (HED) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that research and other activities regarding quality assurance carried out in the higher education institutes should be translated into the economic development as well as over all uplift of the society, he was talking as chief guest to the inaugural ceremony of 1st International Conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education organized by Quality Enhancement Cell of Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar. Besides member Operations & Planning Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad Dr. Ghulam Raza Bhatti, Vice Chancellor KMU Prof. Dr. Arshad Javaid, Registrar KMU Prof. Dr. Muhammad Saleem Gandapur, Director QEC Dr. Jamil Ahmad, Dy Director and chief organizer of the event Miss Asiyah Bukhari, representatives and heads of QEC’s of more than 97 universities of the country, researchers, Quality Assurance experts key note speakers from Germany, USA, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran and UK were also present at the occasion.

 Syed Zafar Ali Shah said in the past Higher Education sector was not gained too much importance due to various reasons but the present government has not only established new universities but the standards of education has been also increased according to the international standards. He said the reason behind progress of the developed nations is their priority given to the higher education sector and especially the focus on quality assurance pave the way for their overall development. He explained that Higher Education is on top agenda of the present government and therefore the number of universities reached up to 41, whereas the number of degree colleges rise up to 250.

Secretary Higher Education said to improve the standard of Higher Education the present government introduced not only 4 years BS program at undergraduate level but first time in the history of KP a teacher training institute for college teachers has been also established. He appreciated the effort of KMU-QEC for organizing such a successful and fruitful event and hoped that this activity will not only help the Quality Assurance experts and managers to share their expertise and good practices but it would also provide an opportunity to all the stake holders to device and chalk out a future plan for improvement of the standards of quality assurance at higher education institutions.

Member Operations & Planning HEC Dr. Ghulam Raza Bhatti while talking to the inaugural ceremony as guest of honor has said that HEC has played a vital role in enhancing the level and quality in higher education sector by adopting certain measures. He said that HEC is on one side playing its due role as an regulatory body for HEI’s but on other hand HEC has provided large opportunities for research and higher studies due to which the number of M. Phil and PhD scholars increased so many time in the last ten years. He added that the number of research papers of Pakistani researchers published and viewed all across the globe is more than those of UK, Brazil, China, Russia and India. He said Pakistan is one of among the 18 nations who signed Washington Accord which provided an opportunity to Pakistani engineers to get admission at higher level and even to seek jobs in the 18 advanced countries including USA, UK, Germany and France and this all is became possible due to the higher standards of QEC’s of our HEI’s.

Dr. Ghulam Raza Bhatti said that the need for quality assurance in higher education has become a global phenomenon. Pakistan also felt the need to assess and improve the quality of higher education in the country, with the objective of achieving international competitiveness and compatibility of its academic programs and research quality.   

While delivering welcome address vice chancellor KMU Prof. Dr. Arshad Javiad has said that it is an honor and privilege for us being organizing 1st International Conference of the country on Quality Assurance in Higher Education. He said KMU is progressing in right direction and in a short period of ten years it has became one of the top university of the country and in this regard beside other departments credit goes to our QEC and its team. He said Quality assurance managers play a crucial role in ensuring international standards by all means. They plan, direct or coordinate quality assurance programs and formulate quality control policies. They also work to improve an organization's efficiency, profitability and regulating the standards of Higher Education.

Prof. Dr. Heinz Ulrich Schmidt representative of Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation  Bonn, Germany, Prof. Dr. Khalid M. El-Hassan Ohio University USA. Prof. Dr. Abbas Bazargan from University of Tehran, Iran and Prof. Dr. Abdul Wahid Usmani of King Saud University, Saudi Arabia beside other experts from across the country also talked to the conference