ISLAMABAD: A high-profile forum of universities concluded in Islamabad on Monday with the resolve to transform higher education in the Muslim world, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) said.
Over 200 vice chancellors, including 40 from 20 Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries, participated in the VC Forum that was jointly organized by the HEC, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), the OIC’s Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Pakistani Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, and the British Council’s Pakistan chapter.
Participants at the forum unanimously called upon governments in the Muslim world to allocate 1 percent of their national GDP toward higher education “to secure the future of the Muslim Ummah.” It was also recommended that universities in the Islamic World adopt measures for the emancipation of women in higher education and embed the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals in their programs, processes and systems.
Speaking at the occasion, Pakistani planning minister Ahsan Iqbal emphasized the need to realign Muslim places of learning with the global explosion of knowledge and information technology.
“The Islamic world had given up on their fundamental heritage which was observation, inquiry, reflection and critical thinking. This lies at the root of underdevelopment in the Islamic world,” Iqbal was quoted by the HEC statement as saying.
The minister outlined a seven-point reform, audit and performance plan that universities in Pakistan would have to follow in the future:
“This includes academic excellence in imparting knowledge, research and innovation, strong academia industry linkages, community service and contribution to society, technology enablement, corporate governance, and above all impact of graduates in society.”
During the ceremony, Iqbal formally inaugurated the ‘Ilm-Bank’ platform proposed by the Chairman HEC as a virtual bank “which is expected to become a knowledge consortium of higher education institutions in the OIC member states.”
“This would enable access to cross border education, training and research opportunities through a centralized platform,” the HEC statement said, adding that ICESCO and the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists would work together to chalk out the terms of reference of Ilm-bank.
Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed called on the planning minister to allocate resources to ensure Pakistan could fulfil a leadership role in establishing Ilm-bank.
“Efforts will be mobilized to convince donor/funding agencies like the Islamic Development Bank as well as other development funds to support the cause of emancipation of higher education in OIC member states,” Ahmed said.
