LAHORE: The Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) and Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) on Thursday launched the first-ever annual contest of ‘University of the Year’ for the public universities to boost the standard of education.

The HED and PHEC have developed criteria for assessing the academic and administrative excellence of public universities in Punjab. A total of 30 universities will be assessed annually by the experts in the field and the one securing the highest marks in the scoring grid shall be declared the ‘University of the Year’.

There shall be two different categories of the competition. The first category would be of the universities established before 2010 and second those established after 2010.

Under the criteria, innovations, new start-ups and product development have been given a major share in the score pie while faculty development, internationalisation and fund generation have also been prioritised.

In total, these universities shall be graded on the basis of 10 different parameters, which shouldn’t only enhance the quality of education but also promote entrepreneurship among the students and boost the employability skills of graduates.

Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yassir Humayun Sarfraz said practical steps were being taken for establishing at least one state-of-the-art university in every district for improving the youth’s access to education.

He explained the ‘University of the Year’ contest was designed to encourage, motivate and guide the universities to attain educational excellence and ensure quality education. He said these universities would be recognised provincially and pepped up for global representation.

“The contest is being organised as a strategic initiative to understand global challenges and presenting innovative solutions.”

The minister added that during the last three years, the government had made great strides in the education sector and the universities QS ranking had improved manifolds.

“The Punjab University jumped 54 points in the year 2020 as compared to the year 2018. As per the latest QS Ranking for Asia, 11 universities from Punjab surfaced on it while adding previously only six universities of the province appeared in QS rankings in 2018.”

Mr Sarfraz said the criterion for best university was designed to integrate QS Rankings for universities as one of the key performance indicators.

Commenting on the financial issues being faced by the universities, the minister said an increase in funding for the higher education was on the cards in the upcoming budgets.

“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, our priority, for a short span of time, remained the public health but now we are refocusing the higher education sector and increasing its funds.”

The minister stressed that the fee structures of the universities needed to be rationalized to meet the operational cost of the universities.

PHEC Chairman Prof Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid said the objective of the award was to enhance the visibility of provincial universities on global ranking radars -Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Times Higher Education (THE), and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) also known as Shanghai Rankings- through raising the international standing of universities and also promoting healthy competition among HEIs and rewarding the best performing universities.

English learning: The US-funded two-year English Access Microscholarship Programme’s 250 students’ graduation ceremony was virtually held on Thursday.

US Consul General to Lahore Catherine Rodriguez congratulated the students on successful completion of the learning Programme in Lahore.During the virtual graduation event, the students shared their success stories, recited poetry and sang songs.

Rodriguez thanked the implementing partner, the Lahore Institute of Future Education.

She said the US Mission to Pakistan had sponsored five English Access sites in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan. “In these programmes, our partners help young adults not only to learn English, but also to learn about the similarities and differences between Pakistani and American culture, society, art, music, and traditions.

The programme is a platform for engagement between students, women entrepreneurs, different US exchange programmes alumni, emerging leaders in Pakistan, US diplomats and experts.”

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2021