Role of University Leaders Crucial for Higher Education Reforms, Says Wajiha Qamar
ISLAMABAD, AUG 18 /DNA/ – The National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE), Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan, has launched a three-day workshop entitled ‘Strategic Planning and Leadership Excellence’ to strengthen the leadership and management capacity of senior university leadership to effectively address the academic, administrative, governance and financial challenges of the higher education institutions.
The three-day workshop is being held at the National Institute of Business and Finance (NIBAF). The workshop has brought together the Vice Chancellors, Pro-Vice Chancellors, senior Deans, and statutory heads of public sector universities of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) along with the women universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Rawalpindi region.
The training aims to enhance strategic planning, institutional sustainability, resource mobilisation, governance, performance management, digital transformation in the realm of AI, and innovation in higher education. It also provides a platform for academic leaders to exchange experiences and deliberate on emerging trends and opportunities in the higher education sector.
The Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training, Ms. Wajiha Qamar, was the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of the workshop, while Managing Director NAHE Dr. Noor Amna Malik along with her team was also present at the occasion.
Addressing the opening ceremony, the honorable Minister underlined the role of university heads in shaping the future of higher education, promoting sustainable institutional development, and bringing reforms to the higher education sector. She said Pakistan is blessed with abundant natural resources and stressed that universities must play their role toward developing the knowledge, technology, and skilled human capital required to harness these resources for national development. She called for moving beyond conventional approaches and empowering graduates with the skills and competencies need to become self-reliant. She emphasized stronger Industry Academic linkages and highlighted the need for industry-driven academic institutions that provide students with hands-on training and enhanced employment opportunities. She further stressed that the universities have a paramount responsibility to prepare the youth for the modern world, she underscored. She observed that changing global realities have reduced the relevance of certain academic disciplines. “Redundant disciplines need to be phased out and youth be equipped well to pace up with the world,” she stressed.
The Minister further reiterated to the participants to openly identify the gaps and express their views about possible solutions to the issues. “Each one of you should rise and speak up about the challenges and their possible way out so that we may head towards the real solutions,” she stressed, and assured of her continuous support in a holistic manner.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Noor Amna Malik stated that the workshop has been developed to provide university leaders with opportunities to engage with experts and practitioners on critical issues facing the higher education sector. She shed light on the background of the Strategic Planning and Leadership Excellence workshop, noting that the first exclusive cohort was held in December 2025 for the university leadership of Balochistan. She said the current cohort is highly dynamic and diversified, having representation from six universities from AJK, two universities from GB, and three universities each from KP and Rawalpindi region. She underlined the importance of universities as individual entities, highlighting that it is imperative to work collectively to address the challenges of universities. “We need to make sure we hold one another’s hands to go forward together,” she emphasised. She stressed the importance of active participation of the participants and expressed hope that the workshop would serve as a valuable learning platform and promote collaborative problem-solving among the participants.
The interactive opening ceremony provided a platform for open discussion, where all the participants directly exchanged their views with the Minister of State on the issues being faced by higher education institutions. The participants highlighted the need for greater collaboration and resource sharing among universities, while acknowledging the unique circumstances and challenges faced by individual institutions. The participants emphasised the importance of legislative reforms for university autonomy, formulation of a national model university act, and effective implementation of national policies. The participants also drew attention to the stagnation in recurring grants for public sector universities and stressed the need for enhanced public investment in higher education to support institutional sustainability and national socio-economic development. The discussion further highlighted the importance of diversifying revenue streams and strengthening the financial sustainability of universities. The honourable minister assured the university leadership of her full support to address and alleviate the burning issues and concerns.
The three-day workshop includes in-depth sessions on key areas of higher education management such as Sustainability and Resource Mobilisation; Financial Management, Challenges and Potential Solutions; Vice Chancellors’ Playbook: Strategy, Stakeholders, and Sustainable Growth; Strategic Planning and University Governance Models; Standardisation in Performance Management; and Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: A Strategic Imperative for Pakistani Universities. The speakers and resource persons include senior officials and experts from various areas.
The training initiative reflects the continued efforts of HEC to strengthen leadership capacity in the higher education sector and to support institutional development in AJK, GB and across the country through structured learning and professional development.
