Former vice-chancellor, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Prof Dr Shahid Siddiqui has expressed the need to redefine the role of education as a tool of change.

“The mind could be controlled through good training and time was changing very fast,” he said while addressing the 6th International Conference on Research and Practices in Education as a keynote speaker. The conference aimed at emphasizing the need to develop an education framework for 2025.

Prof Shahid said that the main purpose of education and training was to train the collective minds of any society and enable them to cope with the demands of the present age. Education was a medium of delivery, but it was related to change, he added.

The inaugural session was presided over by the Dean of the Faculty of Education, AIOU, Prof. Dr Nasir Mehmood.  He regretted that Pakistan was 60 years behind in the field of education. It needed to be associated with the job market, the requirements of industries, the improvement of society, and the upgrading of the quality of life.

The speakers congratulated AIOU, especially Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum for his efforts to connect education with the overall development of society and to deal with social and economic challenges.

Two foreign delegates - Dr Jason Laker, Professor of Higher Education, Student Affairs, and Community Development, San José State University (SJSU) and Dr Faith Muirhead, Senior Associate Director of the Professional Development Center at the University of Delaware, Newark, USA – and Prof. Dr Irfan Ahmed Rind of IBA Sukkur University also addressed the opening session.

The speakers were unanimous that education was the greatest weapon to bring about positive change in society, therefore there was a need to formulate a common policy to review the method of education, upgrade teacher education and curricula and introduce an educational system based on moral values.

The education experts while presenting their papers emphasized the need to prepare the education framework for 2025.

During the two-day conference, detailed discussions were held on education, science, technology, engineering, mathematics (stem education), and some other important areas for sustainable development.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk