Moalims

ISLAMABAD: A capable faculty is an integral part for enhancing the quality of education; most universities in the capital providing higher education do not meet the standard of quality education, as per the directives of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
According to the HEC letter, available with Daily Times, it was directed to all public and private universities recognised by the HEC that they should make their preferences for raising the academic qualification of their faculty to impart quality education.
“The minimum qualification for the appointment of lecturer in universities be raised to the level of MPhil, MS or Masters degree from abroad while the qualification of an assistant professor be raised to the level of PhD”, stated the HEC’s letter to the universities.
The sources at HEC revealed that several departments of the universities lack even a single faculty member holding an MPhil or a PhD degree.
The situation of quality education in other parts of country could be marked by plight prevailed in higher educational institutions of the capital, a HEC official regretted. He told to the scribe that majority of universities did not have capable teaching staff. Most of their teachers holding master’s degrees and teaching higher level classes.
“The master degree holder teacher could not teach well to the degree level classes as compare to a MPhil or PhD holder lecturer or an assistant professor”, the official claimed. Talking about the federal universities, the official quotes the example of the National University of Modern Languages (NUML). According to the details, many departments of the NUML have master holders faculty members except few of them. However, according to NUML’s website details, it has a dozen of departments comprised on different categories offering the graduate and postgraduate programmes.
“It is just single example in this regard. The capital is filled with such models,” revealed an official of the HEC on the condition of anonymity.
The official said that the HEC encourages the universities to increase qualification of their teachers even the body offered them to provide full-fledge expenditures that required to completion of the MPhil and PhD degrees. He said that the scenario is totally different from the time when the HEC body was not established. Currently, in the presence of this authority financial factor is an issue for the universities, he added.
“The funds have been provided to any university who requests for promotion of its academic criteria”, he maintained.
An assistant professor of the Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University agreed with the deteriorated situation of the education system. To substantiate his point he quotes example of his university vice chancellor (VC). “When a lecture level teacher will be appointed as a VC then the country can say goodbye to quality education.” However, when contacted HEC Spokesperson Aayesha Ikram confirmed that the commission has issued the directions for appointment and promotion of faculty members. “HEC communicates different policies to higher learning institutions repeatedly and they are required to implement these policies in letter and spirit,” she added.

News reference: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/islamabad/02-Jul-2015/universities-asked-to-promote-quality-education