ISLAMABAD, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Pakistani minister has urged the Vice Chancellors (VCs) of the country's engineering universities to reform their curriculum keeping in view the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution and the market demands of the country.
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal made the remarks during a meeting with the VCs of engineering universities and other stakeholders of the higher education sector of the South Asian country, the planning ministry said in a statement on Sunday night.
The meeting was aimed at formulating a comprehensive plan of action to review the curriculum of engineering universities and modernizing teaching methodology, while making it competitive with the global developments, and to establish the linkages between industry and university, it added.
"Today's world values skilled human resources than mere armchair scientists or degree holders. Hence, it's imperative especially for the engineering universities to equip students with the modern-day technology and accustom them with the technical knowledge and skills," the minister was quoted as saying in the statement.
In the future, Iqbal said the funding of engineering universities would be given on the basis of their research quality and overall performance.
Highlighting the significance of laboratories in varsities, he added, "Survival of the nations will depend on their capacity in classrooms and laboratories. Hence, the VCs have to work hard to make their universities a global resources brand for the education and academics in engineering." ■