LAHORE: The Punjab government is hosting a vice-chancellors’ conference on higher education on Monday (today) to address key issues of governance, academic quality, financial management and curriculum alignment with national requirements.

The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) and Higher Education Department (HED) are jointly organising the conference at the Faletti’s Hotel.

HED Secretary and PHEC Chairperson Dr Farrukh Naveed will address the inaugural ceremony followed by speeches from keynote speakers, including NUST founding rector retired Lt-Gen Muhammad Asghar and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) BOD Chairman Muhammad Ismail Qureshi.

The conference has been divided into several sessions focusing on different critical aspects of higher education.

First session is focusing on governance framework in higher education, second on financial management, third on quality assurance and fourth on curriculum alignment with national requirements.

The conference will also be attended by Marriyum Aurangzeb, Senior Minister for Planning and Development, Environment Protection and Climate Change, Forestry, Fisheries & Wildlife, Chief Minister’s Special Initiatives, Punjab; Rana Sikandar Hayat, Minister for School Education & Higher Education, Government of Punjab; Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, Minister for Finance, Punjab; Ashiq Husain Khan, Minister for Agriculture; Khawaja Imran Nazir, Minister for Primary & Secondary Health Care, Punjab; Khawaja Salman Rafique, Minister for Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education and Emergency Services, Punjab and Shafay Hussain, Minister for Industries, Commerce & Investment, Punjab.

The conference will also see participation from business and industry leaders, VCs from various universities, secretaries, parliamentary secretaries, and members of search committees for vice chancellors.

AGENDA: A senior official told Dawn the conference was being held to devise the future of higher education in Punjab and introduce public-private partnership in universities and to appoint bureaucrats as vice chancellors.

He said the moot is being held in Lahore on the request of a member of a search committee. He said the committee member had also expressed his ideas during interviews of vice-chancellor candidates.

He said the member insisted that the head of universities should be appointed from the bureaucracy and that public universities’ campuses should be developed on a public-private partnership model.

He said earlier only VCs were invited to such conferences but now the entire cabinet and secretaries had been invited.

HED Secretary Dr Farrukh Naveed told Dawn the ministers and secretaries of departments had been invited to represent their departments.

He rejected reports of any public- private partnership programme being devised for the public sector universities in Punjab. He said the conference was being held to know about problems being faced by universities and to find their solution.

Answering a question, Dr Farrukh Naveed said he was representing higher education while ministers and secretaries would represent educational institutions of their departments like health and commerce etc.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2025