PESHAWAR, May 8: The vice chancellor of the NWFP University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, has said that higher education is an important factor in enhancing the production capacity of a nation.

“Human capital is a fuel for economic progress of a developing country like Pakistan,” Mr Gillani told an International Conference on Higher Education for Development held at the Higher Education Commission (HEC)’s auditorium here on Monday.

The conference is being held under the auspices of the UET in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission and Campus Consultancy Services, UK, according to a press release.

Mr Gillani said that as there were some sources of production which were essential for economic development of countries, of which higher education played a vital role.

“Universities owe an obligation to society,” he said, adding that it was their duty to find creative solutions for problems faced by society. “Therefore, it is important that universities remain free of any outside influence,” he added.

Under the dynamic leadership of Dr Attaur Rahman, he said, the country is witnessing positive changes in the higher education sector. The HEC is focusing on increasing access for higher education, providing quality education and making higher education relevant to national needs.

He said there is a debate going on in some circles that the present government is investing two per cent of its national budget on higher education. But if we compare this with other developing countries like China and India, he said, the investment ratio is three times greater than Pakistan.

He cited the example of China and India whose economies are booming due to investment in higher education, particularly in IT sector.

Earlier, in his inaugural address, HEC planning member Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said that higher education was facing numerous challenges all over the world including management, curriculum development and globalisation.

He said that HEC in Pakistan was focusing on strengthening human resources in the field of science and technology. In this connection, he said, HEC is planning to establish six world-class engineering in Pakistan in collaboration with Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and France.

The HEC would like to establish another university in collaboration with Britain.

He congratulated Munir Lone, MD Campus Consultancy Services and Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, for gathering the UK academia to share their experiences with the Pakistani leadership so that a uniform policy could be devised to implement higher education for development in an efficient manner.

This conference is the first of its kind of a series under the overarching concept of higher education for development.

International speakers will share their experience and best practices of how HE was used for development and indeed, regeneration and revitalisation of economically-deprived regions within countries.

Prof Barry Winn, pro-vice chancellor at the University of Hull, Dr M.K. Khan of Bradford University, also spoke on the occasion.

The conference was attended by a large number of vice chancellors, deans, academia and higher officials. The conference aims at sharing to create a forum for exchange of views between university leadership in Pakistan and the UK development practitioners and other stakeholders.