Peshawar, The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Higher Education, Meena Khan Afridi, has emphasized the critical role of training for college lecturers, assistant professors, and associate professors in enhancing the quality of education within the province. Afridi advocated for the application of acquired skills to improve the educational system, rather than merely for career advancement.
According to Directorate General Information and PRs – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, during a meeting attended by Secretary Umra Khan, Academy Director Professor Tasbihullah, Deputy Director Syed Majid, and Muhammad Bilal, the provincial minister was briefed in detail about the academy’s accomplishments. The briefing revealed that the research academy has successfully completed 131 mandatory training programs, benefitting 5352 teaching faculty across various cadres of the higher education department. Additionally, capacity-building training programs have been organized for 728 principals, DDOs, BS Coordinators, HODs, and ministerial staff of government colleges in higher education.
The academy, funded as an ADP project, relies on the Higher Education Department’s ADP for operational expenses, alongside efforts to generate its own revenue. In this pursuit, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements have been established with several institutions. Notably, an MoU with the Federal Government Education Institution Peshawar Region will enable the academy to train faculty from Federal Government Colleges. Similarly, an agreement with the Higher Education Department of Gilgit-Baltistan has been signed to train 15 Master Trainers for government colleges in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The minister was also informed about the academy’s research journals. Afridi directed the preparation of a case to address the academy’s budgetary issues, seeking a lasting resolution with the Finance Department. He assured that measures would be taken to overcome the financial and other challenges faced by the academy, underlining the government’s commitment to strengthening the province’s educational infrastructure.