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Author
Siddiqui, Zarrin Seema
zsiddiqui@hec.gov.pk
Learning Innovation
Higher Education Commission
H-8, Kashmir Highway
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
http://www.hec.gov.pk/li
Occasional Report
NETWORKING ....................................................................................................................................10
SUPPORTING LEARNERS..................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................21
Learning Innovation Division
INTRODUCTION
g he mission of HEC has attributed faculty development as a critical element in raising
standards of university education. In support of this statement, the Higher Education
Commission aims to encourage and support institutions in developing a high quality,
relevant and efficient learning and teaching culture.
Goal
Faculty in higher degree institutions know and demonstrate the content, pedagogical and
professional knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to facilitate learning among all
students.
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Considerable time was devoted to developing the department’ s philosophy, and
program evaluation resulting in new feedback and evaluation instruments. The
certificates and folders have all been re-designed within the department. The current
educational activities include;
These activities have been supported through intensive feedback system, evaluation and
need assessment exercises. Attempt is made to provide state of art resources for various
courses. Table 1 gives an overview of the regular activities that were successfully
undertaken during the year 2003 -04 with number of participants while Fig.1
demonstrates gender representation among the participants in these activities
Gender participation
250
200
150
100
50
0
Curriculum English Pedagogical Certificate
based Language skills course
Male 246 28 56 42
Female 120 29 44 16
Activities
It is now a worldwide practice that all new academic staff is required to participate in a
Teaching and Learning Orientation Course. This
lays the foundations for an effective teaching career
covering various aspects of learning, teaching and
assessment practices. On the same note HEC has
already scheduled three months intensive training
program to acquaint the faculty members with the
process and new trends in teaching and learning.
Currently the courses are delivered at HEC,
Islamabad therefore for many interested institution it
is a problem to relieve the faculty members
completely for three months therefore through this
project 3 – 10 days modules will be offered at
various cities.
The courses will aim to produce to develop competent, confident and reflective
practitioners capable of evaluating and developing their own teaching and learning
support practices in the context of theory, research and evidence. There will be a
particular emphasis on developing generic competencies underpinned by professional
values within the context of disciplinary practice. These competencies include designing
learning experiences, use of a variety of teaching and learning support methods and
resource, assessment of students, supporting student learning, reviewing and evaluating
teaching, professional development and quality issues.
At the end of three courses till October 2004 ninety faculty members countrywide have
now been trained as master trainers who will be able to ;
• provide leadership to university community on matters pertaining to teaching and
learning.
• explore the potential of ICT in support of student learning and
• undertake research pertaining to issues related to higher education
We are now looking forward towards them to demonstrate effectiveness of this project.
Already five of the master trainers have been introduced in the third course and it is
expected that this network of trainers will grow further and conduct similar activities at
regional and institutional level.
• be responsive to employers/communities
Support is provided for expenses associated with the development of new teaching
projects, such as software costs, project support assistance, or equipment rental or
research into an area pertaining to higher education.
Electronic communication has become one of the newest strategies to support learning.
The computer offers a powerful tool for
promoting student centered instruction,
transforming learning into an interactive
and personalized experience. With a
strong trend towards cooperative and
interactive methods of teaching and
learning, ICT can act as a very effective
medium to aid and facilitate. However,
there is a dearth of faculty who is actually
trained in incorporating ICT within their
institution. Through a number of funding
initiatives available via HEC it is anticipated that access to computer technology will be
available to all public higher education institutions within a short span of time.
The objectives of this program are to provide faculty and staff the fundamental
knowledge and skills required to
• manage and use the computer facilities installed in their institutions and
education
License
Teaching
Conferences
National and International conferences will also be arranged on the themes relevant to
higher education in order to share best practices and disseminate new innovations and
findings based on research activities.
RESOURCE CENTRE
A resource centre at HEC, Islamabad is established which serves as a national resource
centre equipped with modern training facilities, and a number of resources that include
audio visual aids and both print and electronic media.
NETWORKING
A coordinated effort to bring National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE) at par with
internationally recognized similar bodies is already initiated with different organizations.
Similarly collaboration at various levels with national and international organization in
arranging educational activities has also been developed. In this context earlier this year
Alliance Franciasse arranged workshops for teachers of French Language. International
Red Cross Committee is launching a series of courses in International Humanitarian Law
in later part of year 2004.
SUPPORTING LEARNERS
Over the past five years, a large number of organizations have indicated that Higher
Education is not meeting the needs of industry in a few significant areas and students,
lack skills in many areas which limits in their progression into employment, It is proposed
that programs to support student learning may also be targeted towards student in
higher education. This will not enhance their skills but also increase the likelihood of
employability after graduation. A tentative list of programs with duration of two hours to
six days is currently being planned
OBJECTIVES
Six major themes for their plan of action have been identified by the National Committee
on English chaired by Mrs. Zakia Sarwar of Society for Promotion of English Language
Teaching. These include;
In order to address these issues, and to review and suggest recommendations for
improvement in examination system National Committee on Examination System has
been established at Higher Education Commission. The objectives include;
e. to suggest ways and means for designing and providing assistance in setting up
training program/workshops on examination methodology.
There are currently more than 100,00 doctors and 15,750 specialists registered with
Pakistan Medical & Dental Council. The total number of nurses registered with Pakistan
Nursing Council till 2002 is 40,144. The population per nurse is currently 3639 which is
almost double than what is served by a doctor and not to mention that the quoted figure
comprises mainly of diploma holders rather than graduates. It should also be kept in
mind that these figures may not represent true picture because the number of doctors
and nurses who are in active workforce is not known.
Concerns have been raised on various forums about the deteriorating state of medical
and nursing education in Pakistan resulting in inadequately trained workforce. The
shortage of nurses has attracted much discussion within the nursing profession and
nursing literature with special reference to the stereotype image projection. Unfortunately
the conventional image persists and it is this image that prospective nursing students and
their families retain when seeing them as nurses.
In her book, published in recent past titled “ Women in Nursing in Islamic Societies”
editor Nancy H. Bryant reveals the dire state of nurses in our society. The females do not
select nursing as a profession, or leave the profession if they get the opportunity. Various
measures to encourage people to select the field of nursing as a profession and efforts of
many organisations in this regard are also highlighted. The book reveals the prevalent
image of nurses and the scarcity of skilled nurses, is not merely a problem in Pakistan
and the Islamic world, but is a global issue. The shortage of nurses is a problem reaching
crisis proportion due to various factors such as stress, low pay scale, physical violence,
verbal abuse and sexual harassment. Cultural and traditional practices discourage young
women in Islamic societies from entering the field of nursing. Another problem is lack of
leadership within nursing professionals and weak nursing voice in government.
More options for career advancement and promotion are necessary to motivate and
retain staff in this profession. The impact of physical violence, verbal abuse and sexual
harassment is of great concern and must be taken into consideration with particular
attention placed on elimination such crimes against nursing personnel as they represent
a category of workers considered most vulnerable.
A strategy for nursing and midwifery region which was published by WHO as EMRO
indicates the necessity for a joint effort involving government, educational institutions
health service management and nursing leadership.
Aga Khan University School of Nursing (AKU-SON) is the only nursing school in Pakistan
headed by a doctorate in Nursing that enjoys international reputation in excellence. This
school has produced 1305 diploma graduates and 265 baccalaureate graduates and 16
generic B.Sc.N. graduates. An increasing number of B.Sc.N. graduates of AKU – SON
are moving into leadership positions such as principals and directors of schools of
nursing in Sindh, Pakistan.
Apart from AKU-SON there are about 83 nursing schools, 92 midwifery schools and 20
public health schools producing about 3,000 nurses for the public and private sectors.
Currently, there are 13,307 sanctioned posts in public sector hospitals which cannot
meet the requirement of the hospitals according to the standard procedure.
Most of the schools of nursing in public hospitals had the post of principal (BS-19) but
work is generally being looked after by the chief nursing superintendents (BS-18), who
are supposed to pay full attention to hospital care and nursing supervision.
A recent newspaper report reveals that nursing schools are in such a bad shape that the
2,000-odd students had to invite donations to hire part-time teachers for subjects like
English, Urdu, Pakistan studies, Physics and Chemistry.
One nurse reported most tutors in public schools were not interested in providing quality
education to their students. "They approach their work just as any government employee
would. There's no accountability. This allows them to take it easy at all times. But when
the same nurses joined private-sector schools they started imparting quality education."
On the same note another report produced by a Commission, to specifically look into
nursing schools in the area of Rawalpindi, revealed that the supervision of the nursing
students was callous and careless and did not take into account the young tender ages
of the students, particularly in view of their emotional immaturity and vulnerability.
The curriculum, training and evaluation system are yet other issues that need to be
revised. The healthcare delivery system is presently undergoing a massive change. The
earlier emphasis on hospital based care & treatment is now shifted to ambulatory care
practices. This has major implication for nursing education because it directly impacts the
knowledge and skills needed by current nursing workforce. A large proportion of existing
nursing workforce is not adequately prepared to meet the needs of our healthcare
system. This is mainly attributed to the declining standards of nursing education,
outdated curriculum, lack of professional development opportunities, assessment and
revalidation as well as lack of trained academic staff. This requires responsibility for a
wide range of activities such as enhancement of the composition of nursing workforce,
expansion of the knowledge, skills and capabilities of nurses.
It should also be kept in mind that there is an accelerated demand of nurses overseas.
Pakistan can avail this opportunity to export nurse workforce to these countries. Thus this
can be an area that needs exploration for better utilization of our workforce globally.
Higher Education Commission (HEC) can play a significant role in planning and
development of nursing workforce and ensure adequate supply and distribution of
qualified nurses that meet the health needs of new millennium.
It was therefore in April 2004, a taskforce on nursing education was formed with an
objective to advise HEC on current and projected issues affecting the nursing workforce
and to
b. refine the process and outcomes of under graduate and graduate nursing
education
c. establish and enforce standards of nursing education which are at par with
international standards
As a result of initial recommendations, an action plan has been proposed and HEC has
already taken some major steps towards promoting excellence in Nursing Education.
One of the main issues highlighted by the taskforce was the outdated apprenticeship
model currently prevalent in nursing education where on- job training is introduced from
day one and nursing students are used as service providers. The Committee proposed
that there is a need for paradigm shift where nursing schools are moved to universities
rather than working within the domain of hospitals. As a result the HEC has now
approved funding to establish Nursing Institutes at Liaquat University of Medical and
Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi as well as
University of Health Sciences, Lahore.
A career ladder will also be built within the service structure of these institutes which will
be academically structured on the lines of medical profession i.e. assistant professor/
associate professor and Professorial level.
Higher Education Commission and Pakistan Nursing Council will also meet to discuss
the variations in the various degree programmes offered country wide and produce a
consensus statement.
CONCLUSION
An ambitious roadmap has been planned and the most positive aspect of this three year plan is
the political will from the Government of Pakistan by allocating adequate budget to carry out
these activities. The staff at Learning Innovation are very optimistic that under the leadership of
the Chairman Prof. Dr. Atta -ur –Rahman (NI, HI, SI , TI) and Dr. Sohail Naqvi the Executive
Director they will be able to achieve the targets set in this roadmap successfully as time will tell.