PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa higher education department on Wednesday constituted a high-level committee of academicians to formulate policy recommendations for the promotion of higher education in the province.

The committee’s formation comes on the orders of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, according to a notification issued by the HED here.

“The competent authority in the Higher Education Department, KP, has been pleased to constitute the following committee or taskforce to formulate policy recommendations for higher education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which will be submitted before the provincial cabinet for approval,” read the notification.

It added that Vice-Chancellor of the Khyber Medical University Prof Ziaul Haq had been appointed as convener of the committee, whose members included Prof Abdus Salam Khalis, Prof Jamil Ahmed (IT) HEC Islamabad, Prof Yurid Ahsan Zia of the University of Peshawar (UoP), Prof Abdullah Sadiq, former UoP VC Prof Qibla Ayaz, former KMU VC Prof Hafeezullah, Institute of Management Science Peshawar director Prof Usman Ghani, Prof Gul Mohammad of the University of Engineering and Technology, Prof Zahoor Khan of the IMS, and the deputy secretary (Universities-11) of the HED.

The notification said that as per the terms of reference, the committee on higher education policy has been tasked with assessing the current state of higher education in the province, including issues related to quality, financial sustainability of universities, industry-academic relations, professional education, resource utilization, adherence to international educational standards in material sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, and intercultural and interregional considerations.

“The committee will also identify the causes of the financial crisis at major universities in the province and suggest corrective measures. It will also develop a higher education sectoral plan for the province, including short-term, medium-term, and long-term policy frameworks to guide the future development and sustainability of higher education in KP,” read the notification.

It also said the committee had been tasked with identifying specific challenges faced by higher education institutions in the province, such as incoherent curriculum and syllabi, faculty professional growth, and the effectiveness of the Office of Research Innovation and Commercialisation (ORIC) and Quality Assurance Cell (QAC).

The committee will also suggest strategies for revitalising dormant or inefficient ORIC and QAC units to enhance their contribution to research, innovation, and quality assurance in higher education.

It will analyse international best practices and trends in higher education to inform policy recommendations for KP.

The HED has also tasked the committee with developing comprehensive policy recommendations for addressing the identified issues and improving the overall quality and effectiveness of higher education in the province.

It also asked the panel to propose strategies for enhancing industry-academic collaborations to ensure that higher education in KP meets the evolving needs of the job market, engaging HIE’s sharing of research beyond academia through knowledge exchange and public engagement.

The committee was also responsible for recommending measures for optimising the utilisation of resources within universities and colleges to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

“The committee should also address local and global cultural considerations in higher education policy to ensure inclusivity and relevance to the diverse population of KP, suggesting sustainable policy recommendations in the domain of arts and humanities.

“It will also propose mechanisms for enhancing the professional growth and development of faculty members in HEIs across the province as well as recommend improvements to existing legal instruments of the HED and public/private sector universities,” read the notification.

It added that the committee would submit the policy recommendations within 30 days of the issuance of the notification.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2024