ISLAMABAD: The newly formed National Technology Council (NTC) has been moving towards becoming operational now that its chairman and vice chairman have taken office.

The maiden meeting of the NTC, an accreditation council set up by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to monitor and accredit technology-related degree programmes, was held at the HEC Secretariat, according to a press release issued by the commission on Wednesday.

It stated that retired Maj-Gen Akbar Saeed Awan and Dr Kausar Malik have been appointed chairman and vice chairman of the NTC, respectively. The council will be responsible for accrediting educational programmes leading to degrees in technology disciplines.

HEC chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, who inaugurated the first meeting, told Dawn that the council will become properly functional in the next few months. “The chairman and vice chairman and members of the NTC have been appointed. It’s a big development, now we’re helping NTC complete its SOP before formally starting its work,” he said.

He said NTC shall take into consideration different aspects of the accreditation of degree programmes in technology-related subjects, including the overall structure and scope of the programme, curriculum, the requisite infrastructure, faculty, the level of compatibility with international trends and standards, the level of skill development and the level of graduate job placements.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2016