By Hina Kiyani
ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) organised on Wednesday a ceremony to confer the Best University Teacher Awards for the year 2022 upon the outstanding faculty members of Pakistani universities in three broad categories, viz. Life Sciences & Medicine; Physical Sciences & Engineering; and Social Sciences & Humanities.
The annual Best University Teacher Award initiative of HEC aims to recognise exemplary university teachers and motivate the faculty to enhance their pedagogical and mentoring skills.
Dr. Syeda Salma Hassan from Government College University, Lahore, Dr. Kamran Khalid from Fatimah Jinnah Medical
University, Lahore and the third by Rafia Mumtaz from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) has won the Best University Teacher Awards 2022 in the categories of Social Sciences & Humanities; Life sciences and Medicine; and Physical Sciences and Engineering respectively.
Chairman HEC Dr Mukhtar Ahmed presided over the ceremony, attended by Executive Director HEC Dr Shaista Sohail, Advisor Academics Engr. Muhammad Raza Chohan, Vice Chancellors of different universities, faculty members, and a large number of students. The conferment of the Best University Teacher Award was also marked by the distribution of cash prizes and certificates among the winners of the Inter-University Essay Writing Competition.
Addressing the ceremony, Chairman HEC Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed termed teaching a prophetic profession and advertised the faculty and teachers to strive for doing justice to their duties and perform their responsibilities to the best of their capabilities.
He emphasised the importance of training the youth alongside the provision of education to them. He expressed his pleasure that female faculty and students in a large number were among the participants and winners of the two HEC initiatives. He said that the participation of candidates from far-flung areas reflects how the country’s education sector is becoming more inclusive with each passing day. He underlined that HEC organised an Essay Writing Competition on Pakistan’s 75th anniversary to gauge the aspirations of youth.
“I take pride in stating that our youth holds lofty dreams, and I am optimistic that Pakistan’s future will shine brighter with the sincere efforts of our students,” he concluded.
In her welcome address, Executive Director HEC Dr. Shaista Sohail highlighted the significant role of teachers in educating the country’s youth and building their character. She advised the students, being privileged for studying in the country’s prestigious higher education institutions, to do their best in their respective fields and prepare themselves for their future role in the socio-economic development of Pakistan.
Advisor Academics Engr. Muhammad Raza Chohan shared the background of the Best University Teacher Award initiative and its shed light on the selection process. He said HEC received 51 nominations for the Award and two different committees of experts played their vital role in the finalisation of winners.
He stated, “Today, we celebrate excellence at two levels: one in imparting knowledge and the other in gaining knowledge.” He further informed the audience that over 4500 students applied for the Inter-University Essay Writing Competition, from which 10 winners were meticulously selected from each category.
Each of the three Best University Teachers were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 million, whereas the cash prizes for the Inter-University Essay Writing Competition were Rs. 500,000 for the first position, Rs. 300,000 for the second position, Rs. 200,000 for the third position, and Rs. 100,000 for the fourth to tenth position holders in both Urdu and English categories.
Similarly, the top three winners of the Inter-University Essay Writing Competition in Urdu were Talha Ijlal from the University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Saifullah from the International Islamic University, and Lubna Maryam from the University of Gilgit-Baltistan.
In the English category, Syed Haris Nawaz from Abdul Wali Khan University, Muhammad Wajid from the National University of Modern Languages, and Nimra Arooj from the National University of Medical Sciences secured the top three positions.
