The Higher Education department today commenced a 2 day seminar with the assistance of Union Human Resources Development Ministry aiming to emerge as a central force in the sphere of higher education. Inaugurating the International Conference on Quality, Innovation, ICT & Digital Technology in Higher Education’, the Higher Education Minister, Punjab, Mr. Surjit Singh Rakhra said that the state government is committed to further innovations in the field of higher education and is constantly working in this direction.Welcoming the delegates and ambassadors from Canada, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Vietnam, Australia, USA and Spain, Mr. Rakhra said that under the ‘RUSA’ programme of Government of India, which is concerned with the higher education, more than Rs. 223 crore have been spent on the higher education sector. He also expressed strong hope that the seminar would lead to a constructive and transformational change in the higher education arena of Punjab more so because the state government is paying specialized attention towards the sector.
“The State Government is aware of the significance of use of ICT in the Higher Educational Institutions. All colleges/universities are therefore working towards use of ICT technology for administrative and academic purposes. The Government of Punjab has shown keen interest and contributed beyond its required share from time to time to accomplish the projects on time”, said Mr. Rakhra.The Minister also divulged that as part of the initiatives promulgated by the state government to prop-up higher education, colleges have been constructed at Patiala and Jalandhar besides separate hostels for boys and girls at Punjabi University, Patiala and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and providing smart class rooms, books and other necessary paraphernalia. A roadmap describing vision of Higher Education in India for the next 10 years was also unveiled by the Mr. Rakhra.
Prominent among other dignitaries included H. E. David Lelliott, British Deputy High Commissioner UK, Ms Concepcion Baca Bautista, Advisor, Embassy of Spain, Ms Renuka Raja Rao, Country Coordinator Education, USA Advising Services, Mr. Simon Grunfeld, Embassy of Sweden, Mr Ashish Sharma, Director, Australian Government, Mr. Apoorv Mahendru, Director, German Embassy, Ms. Bach Thanh Binh, Counsellor, Vietnam Embassy and Mr Arild Oks Nevad, Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway, Professor Arun Kumar Grover, Vice-Chancellor, PU, Prof. MM Pant, Former Pro Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU, Dr. Jaspal Singh, Vice-chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala, Professor A S Brar, Vice-Chancellor, GNDU Amritsar.A special session on “Global Education Scenario and Country Perspective” was undertaken by the experts. The focus of the conference was to highlight the role of digital technology and innovation in education, Gap-Concept of Finishing Schools in Punjab, integrated online education, enhancing the role of a teacher as counsellor/facilitator/ motivator/mentor, future trends in Higher Education in overseas educational institutions, vocationalisation of education and social media.