ISLAMABAD - The Higher Education Commission (HEC) would confer Best University Teacher Awards 2011 upon 63 university faculty members. These 63 university teachers have been selected by Best Teacher Award Committee after comprehensive evaluation and scrutiny among the 153 nominations received from higher education institutions from all over the country. The awards will be conferred in a special ceremony to be held at HEC Islamabad shortly. Best University Teachers Award Program was initiated by HEC in 2004 to improve the quality of education along with enhancing external and internal efficiency of University education. The program provides monetary as well as self-esteemed incentives to teachers from universities and degree awarding institutions through awards and certificates. Each year nominations for the awards are invited from the Public Sector and W category private universities and degree awarding institutions of Pakistan focusing on their contributions towards teaching, research and efforts for professional development. So far 349 awards have been conferred over a period of eight years under this program. Commenting over the program, Chairperson HEC Dr. Javaid R. Laghari said that the program aims to improve the quality of education along with enhancing external and internal efficiency of university education. It also envisages to up-grade quality of research through staff development and provision of better facilities. This national recognition of the contributions made by university faculty will act as catalyst for others to enhance their efforts in the fields of teaching and research. It is expected that a changed atmosphere rising as a result of this scheme will help in lifting the standards of education and research in Pakistani institutions of higher education, he remarked.
