LAHORE: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has launched a national academic leadership engagement series as part of its efforts to strengthen institutional quality assurance across the country.

It is titled ‘The quality compact on the Pakistan precepts, standards and guidelines for quality assurance in higher education (PSG-2023).’

The inaugural Punjab regional session of the series was held at Forman Christian College University (FCCU), Lahore.

The session brought together around 100 senior university leaders, including deans and registrars, representing 29 higher education institutions (HEIs) from the Punjab region.

During the opening ceremony, FCCU Rector Dr Jonathan Addleton delivered welcome remarks, followed by the formal inauguration of the engagement series by HEC QAA Director General Mr Nasir Shah.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr Shah underscored the importance of moving institutions from compliance to ownership and bringing effectiveness in their quality assurance practices, as envisioned under the revamped PSG-2023 framework.

The session participants engaged with HEC’s three expository facets framework — contextual understanding, ownership, and maturity — alongside an introduction to the ‘PERLI Golden Thread’ and the newly launched ‘Q-CIRCLE’ digital platform, designed to support real-time institutional quality monitoring.

In his closing remarks, Mr Shah commended the participants for their active engagement and valuable contributions throughout the day.

The series will continue across the country as part of HEC’s ongoing efforts to build a resilient, self-improving quality ecosystem in higher education.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026