Speakers call for improving teaching standard at higher education level
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (APP): Speakers at a national conference on Wednesday emphasized that unless the standard of teaching at higher education level is improved, no physical or technological infrastructure development could help in the establishment of a knowledge-based economy in Pakistan. The three-day conference on `Professional Development of Teachers at Higher Education Level in Pakistan’ has been organized by the National Academy of Higher Education, Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The main objective of the conference is to point out the bottlenecks and problem areas in the professional development of the teaching staff in the higher education institutions. Eminent research scholars from across the country addressed the participants.
Dr Riaz-ul-Haq Tariq, Vice Chancellor, University of Sargodha said that the traditional system of teaching at most of our higher education institutions leaves a lot to be desired.He asked the teachers to instil in their students the ability to judge objectively, without which they could not become specialists in their respective fields.
Dr Shahid Siddiqui, Professor at Lahore School of Economics said that most of the teacher education programmes in Pakistan focus only on pedagogical change without tapping the areas of conceptual and attitudinal changes thus underestimating the holistic view of change.”A meaningful change can never take place until teachers reconceptualize some basic educational notions that inspire the new practices”, he stressed.
Dr. Siraj-ul-Haq Sheikh, Director, Council of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan presented his study that examined the perceptions of university teachers about the three-dimensioned system of evaluation of teachers in vogue. “The evaluation of high ups and students though accompanied by potential threat can be useful if conducted objectively, while evaluation by peers and the self is least threatening and can prepare teachers for more formal modalities of evaluation”, he said.
M. Aslam Khan, a PhD scholar from National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad presented a paper that reviewed student satisfaction level on technology infrastructure, research facilities and teaching practices prevailing in the leading IT and management science institutes in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Ali Ahmad Jan, Lecturer, Karakoram University Gilgit said that a better understanding of mentoring process might lead to increased recognition as a form of teacher development.
Dr. Hafiz Iqbal, Director Institute of Education and Research, University of the Punjab discussed the assessment techniques practiced by teachers at higher education level, the way they implement assessment techniques and how effectively they integrate assessment in instruction for students learning. Results of his study of a metropolitan university revealed that out of a vast variety of assessment techniques available, the teachers use only very few and they are unable to practice assessment in classroom to its fullest to serve the purpose of enhancement of students learning.
A poster presentation by students of Aga Khan University, Punjab University College of Information Technology, FAST, Department of English, Degree College Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi and Bahria University Karachi was also part of the conference.
Ismailimail 