KARACHI, May 8: Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad on Monday stressed collaborative efforts by universities, Higher Education Commission and other organisations to promote higher education in the province and to bring teaching and research activities at Sindh's universities at par with international standards.

Presiding over a high-level meeting with HEC Chairman Dr Attaur Rahman, he assured that reforms being introduced by the HEC to improve standard of higher education in the country would be implemented on “priority basis” at provincial universities.

During the meeting, the governor discussed issues related to HEC’s recent warning to the KU, NED University and Sindh University regarding freezing of development funds besides affairs of other public and private higher educational institutes in the province.

On the occasion, HEC chairman informed the governor that news reports regarding freezing of development funds of three universities was “misunderstanding” and told that all three universities were among best educational institutes in the country.“The HEC has not decided to freeze funds of any of these varsities,” Dr Attaur Rahman told the meeting.

The governor thanked HEC chairman and his colleagues for cooperating with the universities in Sindh and providing them technical and financial support and made it clear that reforms introduced by the HEC were aimed at improving educational standard, promotion of research activities and improving skills of the faculty.

Stressing on better coordination between provincial monitoring cell, charter inspection and evaluation committee and the HEC, he assured HEC officials that these committees would play their role in implementing the reforms and policies in the universities of Sindh.

The meeting decided that provincial universities would implement all HEC rules and regulations within next four months following completion of their legal requirements..—PPI