Highlighting the challenges and opportunities in promoting professional education in South Asia, Mohd Masood Ahmad, member, executive board and executive director, Association of Management Development Institutions of South Asia (AMDISA), said focus on natural and human resources is a must for maintaining quality of professional education. Inaugurating the two-day directors' conclave programme, jointly organised by the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and GLA University, Mathura, Masood said optimum utilisation of resources, strong networking and thirst for learning are important for development and growth of professional education in the country. Earlier, presiding over the inaugural function, BHU vice-chancellor D P Singh highlighted the importance of framework for education in order to make the nation powerful. He said it is necessary to focus on rural India besides viewing education as a change agent system in the country. The inaugural day of the programme witnessed a total of three technical sessions touching different aspects of higher education including challenges and introspection, strategies for building excellence in higher education and values and leveraging resources. It may be mentioned here that the two-day programme is aimed at providing a platform to the academic administrators and heads of institutions across the country to discuss ways for improving the higher education system. A number of senior faculty members including head and dean, FMS, S K Singh and secretary general Dr H P Mathur were also present on the occasion.
