Islamabad: (April 02, 2021). The education systems and educational institutions after Covid-19 are on serious threat. The educational situations therefore need to revisit their policies and efforts should be made to rebuild the role of academic institutions and teachers to be better equipped in the new virtual world, improved learning process through innovative capacity building programs and leadership development mechanisms. The academic experts said this while sharing their views with the participants at the webinar ‘Role of institutions and teachers in shaping youth’ jointly organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Iqra University Islamabad.
Vice Chancellor, AIOU, Islamabad, Prof. Dr Zia ul Qayyum, while covering various dynamics of the topic, said that the point to ponder for us should be why we are unable to produce global citizens that may have a complete comprehension of the world they are living in. He said that after the Covid-19 scenario, a holistic view is needed to analyze that what could be done beyond the teachers training as alternate to face to face teaching is not available in every aspect of learning.
Dr Nadia Tahir, former Managing Director QAA, Higher Education Commission, was of view that the standard of education in Pakistan was far below the par even before the arrival of Covid19. We are spending less than 2% of GDP on education which is quite reflective of our priorities. Therefore, we need to change our priorities and the access to quality education must be ensured.
“Our Youth is aware, but we are not imparting them informed education,” Dr Nadia remarked while adding further that the quality of higher education in the country is even dismal.
Dr Fatima Dar, Director Centre for Teaching Excellence and Learning Innovation, Iqra University, on the occasion opined that the education sector has been affected globally due to pandemic. Therefore, global cooperation should be enhanced to respond to emerging challenges, especially the challenges that are resulted by Covid-19.
Dr Shafqat Munir, Director Resilient Development Program, SDPI, highlighted the fact that the education no more remained a development issue as it has now become a humanitarian issue as well. The academic institutions have a critical role to play in developing new concept and shaping up youth in line with the new world that has been emerged after the Covid-19.
Besides others, Dr Shams Hamid, Dean Faculty of Arts & Design, Education & Social Sciences and Ibrahim Sajid Malick, Director Online Education, Iqra University and Shahid Minhas of SDPI also covered the diverse aspects of the topic and said that the new tools and techniques have already been adopted by the developed world, however, now it is equally mandatory for the developing world to adopt these methods at the earliest.