ISLAMABAD: The vice chancellors of public and private universities met on Monday to discuss the rise in incidences of intolerance on university campuses and resolved to take steps to avoid such incidents in the future.

The meeting organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) was attended by university heads from across the country and some joined sessions via video link. State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Balighur Rehman was also attending and International Islamic University Islamabad Rector Dr Masoom Yasinzai chaired the Vice Chancellor’s Committee.

Speaking during the meeting, the minister appreciated university heads for getting together for a national cause and to deliberate on the major issue of intolerance in society, with particular reference to higher learning institutions. He also appreciated the HEC for introducing Ethics as a compulsory subject in university curriculum.

He stressed on the need to sensitise teachers on the significance of the subject and make students realise this is not just another subject for scoring marks in.

Agree to encourage co-curricular activities and increase teacher-student interactions

Talking to Dawn after the meeting, HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said: “Today we took various decisions. Universities will organise lecturers about various schools of thought so students develop a habit of hearing the point of view of others and special attention will be paid on sports, which teach discipline and tolerance.”

The HEC did not invite the media to attend though a press release said that during the meeting, participants agreed that faculty members will be told to interact with students frequently in order to remove the disconnect between them.

The varsity heads agreed there should be a streamlined mechanism for the mentoring and counselling of students and that student societies should be made functional to involve more students in co-curricular activities to utilise their potential in a positive way. The eligibility criteria for the office bearers of these societies should come from the administration, the participants agreed.

“It was agreed that lectures on various social topics by renowned scholars and experts should also be held at campuses so that students have the opportunity to listen to different points of view on diverse topics. Students should be [facilitated but] they should also know their limits while they are at campus. It was also suggested that parent-teacher meetings should also be held to address specific issues of students,” the statement read.

According to the statement, participants of the meeting were divided into five groups and given a topic each to discuss and make recommendations on.

The topics they were given were the role of the faculty in curbing extremism; the role of students in developing tolerance; the role of university leaders and administrators in ensuring harmony and eliminating radicalisation; policy support for curbing extremism in higher education institutions and curbing extremism through curriculum.

After deliberations, participants came up with recommendations and all university heads agreed to implement them either at an institutional level or through joint efforts.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2017