Task Force on Improvement of Higher Education in Pakistan

Acknowledging individually all of the many contributors to the discussions of the Task Force is a difficult undertaking, as there is the danger of unwitting oversight. With that caveat, acknowledgements are first and foremost due to all members of the Task Force for the time and effort that they devoted to the task at hand. Everyone actively contributed to the deliberations and enriched the final output.
We thank the seminar participants from across the country who provided valuable insights, and their inputs worked as a guide to the Task Force in remaining focused on the issues of concern and keeping the ground realities in mind.
We are very grateful to the Federal Minister for Education, Ms. Zobaida Jalal, whose initiative resulted in the formation of the Task Force. The Minister participated in several meetings and provided support and valuable guidance throughout. We also acknowledge the participation, encouragement and advice provided by the Governors of Sindh and Balochistan, the Federal Minister for Science and Technology, the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, the Sindh Minister for Finance, Planning, and Development, the Punjab Minister for Education, and numerous other officials.
The convenors and members of the Task Force Committees (Appendix 4) put in many additional hours deliberating on issues of central importance, especially those deliberating on governance and management of higher education. Their outputs served as working documents that provided grist for the Task Force deliberations. Captain U.A. G. Isani and Dr. Latif Virk provided useful information and analysis on higher education in Pakistan. The latter also carefully recorded the proceedings of the meetings. Dr. A.Q. Mughal and his colleagues at the University Grants Commission were generous in providing institutional support.
The Task Force appreciates the contributions and the extensive work done by The Boston Group(1) and presented in its report "Higher Education in Pakistan: Towards a Reform Agenda". This was an important input, and we expect this to be a precursor of future collaborations between expatriate Pakistanis and local efforts.
The Task Force secretariats at the Aga Khan University and the Lahore University of Management Sciences facilitated the work of the Task Force. Thanks are especially due to Dr. Arif Ali Zaidi who co-ordinated the functions of the Task Force and Dr. Robert Maudsley, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Aga Khan University for supporting the Secretariat.
The World Bank provided funds for the work of the Task Force. Its report (co-sponsored with UNESCO) on 'Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise' triggered the process that lead to the establishment of this Task Force, and often served as a guide to its deliberations. The encouragement and inputs of Drs. Henry Rosovsky and David Bloom, who participated in the initial deliberations on higher education in developing countries at Lahore and Karachi in February 2001, are deeply appreciated.
The Task Force acknowledges the many others who have played a critical supportive role in facilitating its work.
Mr. Adil Ahmad's contributions for putting together the ingredients of this report need special mention. And finally, Drs. Camer Vellani, Tariq Banuri, S. Zulfiqar Gilani and Khalid Hamid Sheikh gave words to the rich and complex output of the Task Force and attempted to encapsulate all of that into the coherent whole that is before you.