Executive Summary of the following Teaching departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University Peshawar

(Already sent)

  1. Plant Breeding and Genetics
  2. Plant Pathology
  3. Soil & Environmental Sciences
  4. Rural Sociology
  5. Food Science & Technology
  6. Weed Science
  7. Plant Protection

(New Executive Summaries)

  1. Agronomy
  2. Horticulture
  3. Agricultural Chemistry

(In progress)

  1. Institute of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering (IBGE)
  2. Entomology
  3. Livestock Management
  4. Agricultural Extension Education
  5. Agricultural Economics

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY

Agronomy was the only major parent department when agriculture classes started back in 1933 at Islamia College, Peshawar. The Department gave birth to several other Departments when in 1968 it was declared as a full fledged separate AgricultureCollege, then Faculty in 1976 and ultimately a University in 1981. From its beginning, agronomy has been known as the parent department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University Peshawar.

Department of Agronomy is actively involved in teaching, research and outreach activities. The department offers specialized courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in Agronomy. It has been widely accepted and it has attracted a large number of students for admission every year. The department reserves around 20 Acres of Open Experimental Area to conduct problem oriented research at graduate and postgraduate level. The faculty members are also running a number of research projects funded by National Organizations and donor agencies. The department conducts problem oriented research and provides educational and research linkages for uplifting the living standards of the agricultural community in the province. The existing infrastructure of the Agronomy department is much better than other departments however, it needs to be further strengthened and upgraded to meet the international standards.

The degree programs offered by the department are approved by the HEC while the Department case was submitted to the National Agriculture Education Accreditation Council (NAEAC) for accreditation and external evaluation of its degree programs. The Accreditation Inspection Committee (AICs) of NAEAC visited the department for external assessment and accreditation during May 13-14, 2011 and placed the department in Upper band of “X”, which means that the degree programs have minor shortcomings.

In order to assess the strength and weaknesses of the department in general and of the programs offered (i.e., B.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D) in particular, self assessment reports were prepared by the Program Team which comprised of Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tariq Jan, Chairman, Department of Agronomy and Dr. Amanullah (Jr.). The SAR was further scrutinized by the Assessment Team which comprised of Prof. Dr. Aman Ullah (Sr.), Department of Agronomy as Convener, Dr. Muhammad Arif, Assistant Professor Agronomyas member and Mr. Fazal Munsif as External member.

In the SWOT analysis the assessment team reported the strength of the programs as the department has fifteen (15) well-qualified faculty members, amongst them thirteen (13) faculty members are Ph.D holders and all Ph.D holders have completed Post Doc from advance countries of the world. The department has laboratory facilities (four teaching/research laboratories), field and screen house facilities for on-farm research. The department currently has number of research projects on its credit.

However, few short comings are also pointed out by the Assessment Team. For example, Lack of supporting staff, No departmental seminar room, No trained lab technicians. Space is also one of the major problems for students and staff.The existing infrastructure of the department, therefore, needs to be further strengthened and upgraded to cope with the new challenges in agriculture.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY

During the past few decades,Agricultural Chemistry has received thorough attention by the universities worldwide.The Department of Agricultural Chemistry was established in this University in 1965. Since then, the department imparts quality education as well as research in various fields of agriculture.The department offers B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc (Hons) and Ph.D degree programs.So for, the department has produced over 200 quality graduates who are serving in various disciplines of national and international interest.As compared to the other disciplines in agriculture, it is probably the most important subject with regard to its applications and employment opportunities.

The major courses taught in the department include Biochemistry, Biochemical techniques, Organic chemistry, Phyto and medicinal chemistry, Pesticide chemistry, Biotechnology, Food Chemistry and Environmental Chemistry. The department has developed collaboration with number of research and teaching institutions in the country as well as abroad.

The degree programs offered by the department are approved by the HEC while the Department case was submitted to the National Agriculture Education Accreditation Council (NAEAC) for accreditation and external evaluation of its degree programs. The Accreditation Inspection Committee (AICs) of NAEAC visited the department for external assessment and accreditation during June 13-14, 2011 and placed the department in Lower band of “X”, which means that the degree programs have some shortcomings, which needs urgent attention.

In order to assess the strength and weaknesses of the department in general and of the programs offered (i.e., B.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D) in particular, Self Assessment Reports (SARs) were prepared by the Program Team which comprised of Dr.Saleemullah Focal Person; Dr. Anwar Ali Shad, member and Dr. Sahib Alam member. The SARs were further scrutinized by the Assessment Team which comprised ofProf. Dr. Jehangir Khan Khalil, Covener AT; Dr. Zafar Iqbal: AT member, Dr. Mudassar Iqbal: AT member and Dr. Muhammad Saeed of Weed Science: External AT member.

In the SWOT analysis the assessment team reported the strength of the programs as the department has Eleven (11) well-qualified faculty members, amongst them Seven (07) faculty members are Ph.D holders including four (04) foreign qualified, the department has five research laboratories, the department currently has six (06) research projects on its credit.The department has a Product Development In-charge who deals with the development of Pesticides, Herbicides and other related chemicals and the department has collaboration with foreign universities and local Industries.

On the other side, few shortcomings are also pointed out by the Assessment Team. For example, Lack of Chemicals and Glass wares in research laboratories, Lack of computers in the Computer laboratory, lack of books in the departmental library and Insufficient Classrooms. The existing infrastructure of the department, therefore, needs to be further strengthened and upgraded to cope with the new challenges in agriculture. In the implementation plan,timeframe is given to the department to overcome these weaknesses.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE

In1963 when the AgricultureCollege was shifted to new building, Horticulture was started as main subject in MSc classes. Department of Horticulture was established in 1981 after the inception of NWFP Agricultural University. This Department, with its main offices and post graduate research laboratories is housed in the Plant Science Building (PSB) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University (KPK-AU), Peshawar.

The Department of Horticulture is one of the leading disciplines. It is actively involved in the uplift of community in terms of human resource development through applied research and training in bringing about improvement in the fields of fruits, vegetables and ornamental plant production. The teaching and research activities of the staff is supported by two laboratories, 38 acres of research farm and two ornamental nurseries. Nurseries, Lath house facilities and researchfarm for field studies are located nearby KPK-AUP campus. The postgraduate research laboratories of the department are well equipped with state of the art equipments

The Department of Horticulture has three pronged approach imparting high quality education, conducting problem-oriented research and transferring technology to solve problems of horticultural crops particularly inthe province. The highly qualified teaching faculty provides a stimulating academic environment to the students to pursue their study programs leading to B.Sc (Hons), M.Sc (Hons) and PhD degrees. The students are required to have studied basic biology and introductory Horticulture courses for specializing in various disciplines of Horticulture i.e. Pomology, Olericulture, Floriculture and Landscaping. The department has been successful, in providing trained manpower of Horticulture graduates, both in public and private sectors who are actively involved in research and development as well as in solving theproblems faced by the farming community. The department has produced 526 graduates with bachelor degree, 401 graduates with master and 06 PhD Scholars. Some of the graduates have shown excellent performance during their academic careers and received several awards such as Presidential Awards, Gold Medals, Silver Medals and Bronze Medals.

Besides teaching, the department is implementing viable research programs in fruit, vegetables and ornamental plants including landscaping. Currently, the department concentrates on problem oriented research throughout the province. A number of research projects funded by national and international donor agencies have been carried out by the department. These projects are aimed to promote Horticulture crop production and theirquality through various management practices.

The degree programs offered by the department are approved by the HEC while the Department case was submitted to the National Agriculture Education Accreditation Council (NAEAC) for accreditation and external evaluation of its degree programs. The Accreditation Inspection Committee (AICs) of NAEAC visited the department for external assessment and accreditation during June 13-14, 2011 and placed the department in Upper band of ‘Y’ with 60.4% score, which means that the degree programs have serious shortcomings, which needs urgent attention.

In order to assess the strength and weaknesses of the department in general and of the programs offered (i.e., B.Sc, M.Sc and Ph.D) in particular, Self Assessment Reports (SARs) were prepared by the Program Team which comprised of Dr. Gohar Ayub, Focal Person; Dr. Muhammad Sajid, member and Mr.Fazli Wahid, member. The SARs were further scrutinized by the Assessment Team (AT)in its meeting held on June 09, 2011; which comprised ofProf. Dr. Abdur Rab; Covener AT, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Zubair, Member AT and Prof. Dr. Farman Ullah, Director QEC as External AT member.

In the SWOT analysis the assessment team reported the strength of the programs as the department has foreign qualified faculty with Ph.Ds in different areas of Horticulture (Fruit, vegetables, tissue culture and ornamental horticulture), Laboratory facilities (two teaching/research laboratories), Field and Nursery facilities for on-farm research and Two Research Forms with 38 Acres area.

On the other side, few shortcomings are also pointed out by the Assessment Team. For example:

  1. Unavailability of funds for conducting research and maintenance of laboratories.
  2. Small number of projects
  3. No Greenhouse facility.
  4. No Departmental computer laboratory for research students.
  5. No departmental Library.
  6. Shortage of class rooms
  7. Tissue culture lab

The existing infrastructure of the department, therefore, needs to be further strengthened and upgraded to cope with the new challenges in agriculture. In the implementation plan, timeframe is given to the department to overcome these weaknesses.