ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) will arrange a series of lectures focusing on various aspects of national interest at its regional centres, said an official statement issued here on Monday.

The statement said, to make its regional centres focal points for enhanced academic activities throughout the country, the commission has decided to organize seminars or lectures. Renowned academicians, researchers, scientists, and professors of public sector universities and institutions of higher learning of the country would deliver lectures under the programme at Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar, it added.

It said, under the direct supervision of HEC, these lectures would be arrange at the regional headquarters every week, simultaneously.

The first lecture of the series would be delivered at the HEC regional centre, Karachi, on Tuesday by Prof (Dr) M. Iqbal Choudhry of Karachi University on ‘industrial ecology-learning from nature’.

Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology vice-chancellor Prof (Dr) Pirzada Qasim Rana Siddiqui will be the chief guest on the occasion.

The weekly programme of the series includes lectures on ‘Islam and modernism’ by Prof (Dr) Manzoor Ahmad of Usman Institute of Technology, Karachi, on August 12.

Sindh department of information technology secretary Mahtab Akbar Rashdi will deliver a lecture on ‘deterioration of the standards of education: reasons and remedies’ in Karachi on August 20.

Federal Urdu University vice-chancellor Prof Siddiqui will speak on ‘genetics of some neuro-muscular disorders- a treatment approach,’ on August 26.

A lecture on ‘ocean-studies coastal and offshore industry,’ will be delivered by oceanography department director-general Dr Shahid Amjad in Karachi on September 2.

Dr Anwarul Hassan Gillani of the Aga Khan University will speak on ‘prospects of traditional and complementary medicine in Pakistan’ on September 9.

‘Challenges for human resource development in 21st Century’ is the topic of a lecture by National Institute of Public Administration, Karachi, chief instructor Syed Amjad Ali Saqib, on September 23.

PROJECT FOR FARMERS: The commission has also decided to support a research project entitled ‘farmers capacity building through information technology’ to be conducted at Punjab University Lahore at the cost of Rs0.47 million.