Quality enhancement in higher education is the need of the hour: Justice (Rtd) Irshad Qaisar

The Provincial Minister for Higher Education and Law Justice (Rtd) Irshad Qaisar has said that innovation and reform in higher education is the need of the hour. In the past, our focus has been more on quantity, but in the current scenario, quality must be increased as well as quantity. She expressed these views while speaking as a chief guest at a ceremony to give certificates of appreciation to teachers who completed quality assurance training organized by the Higher Education Department (HED), Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar. While on this occasion Secretary HED Muhammad Daud Khan, vice-chancellor KMU Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq, Prof. Dr. Shafiqur Rehman, Asad Khan, Prof. Dr. Mehmudul Hasan Butt and Imranullah Marwat, heads of various colleges and faculty were also present in large numbers.

Justice (Rtd) Irshad Qaisar said that higher education has a fundamental role in developing nations and giving importance to higher education in backward provinces like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the need of the hour. She said that along with objectivity in education, it is also very important to align education with our national needs. Justice (Rtd) Irshad Qaisar said that HED has started a series of teacher training which will not only increase the professional skills of teachers but also improve the quality of education.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary HED Muhammad Daud Khan said that the steps being taken at the department level to popularize the culture of quality have yielded excellent results. He said that the purpose of today's event is to encourage the teachers who have completed quality teaching training under quality assurance. He said there will be no compromise on the quality of teachers and education and all the necessary measures will be taken on a sound basis.

Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq said that the purpose of universities is not just to issue degrees, but to provide the best opportunities for education and research to the young generation is the main purpose of these institutions. He said that after the establishment of a large number of universities in the province, now is the time that we have to pay attention to the teaching and research quality of these universities.

He said that it is the need of the hour to align education with our social problems and social needs. He said that after creating quality enhancement cells in more than two hundred institutions affiliated with the university, KMU has now focused on training and quality improvement of these QECs which will not only improve the academic and research quality of the affiliated institutions, but it’s encourage results will also come in the form of increasing the professional skills of the graduates. In the end, Provincial Minister for Higher Education and Law Justice (Rtd) Irshad Qaisar along with Secretary HED Daud Khan and vice-chancellor KMU Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq distributed the certificates to the participants.