Higher Education in Pakistan and Azad

Jammu and Kashmir

Government Teacher Training College for Women - Islamabad

The delegation met with Dr Mumtaz Gul who is a teacher educationalist at the training college.  She highlighted the specific issues in Pakistan around the education of women.  She stated that educating women and girls was not encouraged in rural areas and that families whose daughters were in education above the age of 13/14 were often ostracised from the rest of the community and that future marriage prospects and subsequent economic security were at risk.

Dr Gul was very interested in teacher training in Pakistan as teaching was perceived to be an acceptable profession for women and that this was also a mechanism for change.

Dr Gul was keen to have introductions to the Teacher Training Agency in the UK and to investigate opportunities for teacher education and information sharing as well as opportunities for continual professional development.

Beacon House Education System - Margalla Campus, Islamabad

The delegation visited the Beacon House School in Islamabad.  This is part of a national private education system run on a European model for children aged 8 to 18.  A University has recently been added to the system, which is based in Lahore.  It has a student body of 60,000 and is the largest private educational institution in Pakistan and amongst the largest in the world.  It has a subsidiary network called The Educators with an additional 40,000 pupils.  The Educators operates a sliding scale fee structure, thus enabling the education system to be accessible to those less well off.

The delegation met the Principal Syed Ahmed and staff of the Islamabad branch who informed us of the Discovery Centre for innovative learning established in 2002 from which education practice and new technologies are taught to children.

Information was also provided about the Liberal Arts University, which was established in 2003. This is a strictly not for profit venture.  A year later a business school was also opened.

SOURCE: Higher Education Commission: Programmes & Initiatives 2005