Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) Celebrates THE Ranking Achievements of Varsities
Tuesday, November 08 2022
Fifteen universities, both public and private, in Punjab have been ranked among the 1,200 best-performing universities in the world on the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2023.
The universities that climbed up the ranking ladder include Government College University Faisalabad, University of Management and Technology, University of Engineering and Technology, University of Agriculture, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, University of Lahore, University of the Punjab, Bahauddin Zakariya University, University of Engineering and Technology, University of Gujrat, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, University of Sargodha, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Government College University, and Lahore College for Women University.
In order to acknowledge the efforts, hard work and commitment of the best-performing universities, the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) arranged an award ceremony at Arfa Software Technology Park, Lahore. The ceremony was attended by Mr Ahmad Raza Sarwar, Secretary, Higher Education Commission (HED), Govt of Punjab (as a chief guest) and Mian Imran Masood, Chairman, Chief Minister’s Taskforce for Education and former provincial education minister, Prof Dr. Nizamuddin former Chairperson PHEC, Prof Dr Shahid Munir Chairperson PHEC, Dr Mansoor Ahmad Baluch Chief Operating Officer PHEC, Dr. Asif Raza Rector UMT, Vice-chancellors, Registrars, Deans, Directors of ORICs, Directors of QECs and Senior Officers of PHEC attended the ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Rector UMT Dr. Asif Raza shared the key initiatives taken by UMT to be ranked as the number one private sector university in Pakistan. He emphasized that systematic changes for; improving the quality of graduates, applied research to solve industrial problems, and international collaborations should be the way forward for Pakistani universities.
Prof Dr Shahid Munir, Chairperson of Punjab Higher Education Commission, on this occasion praised universities, saying that their performance on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings was commendable, "Although we do not have the same sophisticated equipment and facilities as the advanced countries have, our universities have performed exceptionally well within very limited resources; this reflects the commitment, devotion, and hard work of the leadership, faculty, and staff of our universities," he said.
Addressing on this occasion, Mr Ahmad Raza Sarwar, Secretary of HED, stressed the need for universities to provide the government their consultancy services, feasibility studies and design and supervision for various government projects, "The government has billions of funds in this head; we hire foreign consultancy firms for our projects; our universities are capable enough, they should tap this opportunity, come forward and provide the government with such services to cultivate huge funding," he said. He also emphasized on equipping the graduates with moral values that formed the basis for a civilized society.
Mian Imran Masood, Chairman Chief Minister’s Taskforce appreciated the achievements of the universities. Dr Nizamuddin, former Chairman of PHEC stressed on improving the performance of universities by experience sharing. Vice Chancellors from Govt College University Faisalabad, University of Management and Technology Lahore and University of Engineering and Technology Taxila also spoke on this occasion. Souvenirs were distributed among the 15 universities at the end.
By the next year, the Punjab Higher Education Commission is committed to bringing more provincial universities to the Time Higher Education rankings.