Conclusions

At the conclusion of the discussions, all agreed that the impact of higher education in the country would be enhanced significantly if the standard of education in the public sector universities and colleges could be improved. The need for improvement included broadening of education to include ethics, moral reasoning, civilisations and culture and extended facilities for vocational and technical education. It seemed that efforts to induce a change would be supported within some universities and colleges and that practical plans for implementation would be received positively by the Federal and Provincial Governments.

It was thought that a document is needed urgently outlining pragmatic steps that would radically improve the quality of higher education through a co-operative effort of the Government, University Grants Commission, Pakistan, and the faculty and leadership of universities. Such a document would complement the World Bank-UNESCO Report--which expresses generic principles--and guide universities and colleges, particularly in the public sector, as they have the potential for the widest impact across all socio-economic classes.