The Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC) successfully completed the onsite visit activities in Pakistan with the visit of four (4) Government Technical Colleges. The visit exercises started on November 29 and culminated on December 12, 2021.
During the three week period, the following institutes underwent onsite visit exercises as part of their bid to be accredited by APACC:
- Government College of Technology Taxila: November 29-December 1, 2021
- Government College of Technology Peshawar: December 2-4, 2021
- Government College of Technology Faisalabad: December 6-8, 2021
- Pakistani Swedish Institute of Technology Karachi: December 10-12, 2021.
The visits were made possible through the cooperation amongst APACC, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Pakistan Office, and the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), the TVET agency of Pakistan, under the Kanyab Jawan program. This program envisions the implementation of the National Youth Development Framework which will target the skills development of the Pakistani youth. Part of this endeavor is to upgrade Pakistani TVET institutes into the standards worthy of international accreditation.
The team that went to Pakistan is composed of: (1) Dr. Ramhari Lamichhame, Lead Accreditor, immediate past president of APACC, 11th CPSC Director General and currently the Managing Director of the Human Development Consultancy Group in Nepal; (2) Ms. Therese Tan Lee, Member Accreditor, International TVET Expert and Lead Consultant of the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Addis Ababa and (3) Mr. Rae Emmanuel Echaveria, Documentation Officer and Team Leader of the Research, Publications, and Information Division of the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC).
During the three-week proceedings, they were able to liaise with the officials from the Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) of three different Pakistani provinces (TEVTA Punjab, TEVTA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and TEVTA Sindh). They were also able to validate the compliance of these institutes to the regionally-formulated standards of TVET institutional operations that are anchored to the seven primary criteria: (1) Governance and Management; (2) Teaching and Learning; (3) Human Resources; (4) Research and Development; (5) Image and Sustainability; (6) Other Resources and (7) Support to Students.
They were also able to meet notable officials during their visit including the Chairman of NAVTTC, Mr. Syed Javed Hassan; the Chairman of the National Accreditation Council for the Technical Education Stream (NAC-TVS), Mr. Mian Waqas Masood; the Director (International Cooperation) Accreditation, Certification & International Cooperation (AC&IC) Wing of NAVTTC, Mrs. Aisha Qazi; the Director of the ILO Office in Pakistan, Ms. Ingrid Christiensen and the Senior Program Officer of the ILO Country Office in Pakistan, Mr. Saad Gilani.
The team was able to form significant linkages with the ILO and the NAVTTC team who pledged for a closer cooperation with APACC with regards to enhancing the implementation of quality systems in Pakistan’s TVET institutions.
