The Eighth Meeting of the Committee of Heads of University Grants Commissions / Equivalent Bodies was held on 17 – 18 April 2013 in Kathmandu.

The meeting was inaugurated by Honorable Madhav Ghimire, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal on 17 April 2013 at Hotel Himalaya, Lalitpur, Kathmandu. The inaugural ceremony was attended by H.E. Mr. Ahmed Saleem – Secretary General of SAARC, Senior Officials of the Government of Nepal and other distinguished invitees. Prof. Dr. Ganesh Man Gurung, Chairman of University Grants Commission of Nepal chaired the meeting.

All SAARC Member States participated in this annual meeting and matters related to benchmarking higher education standards among SAARC Member States, mutual recognition of professional degrees, achieving a common regional educational standard, quality assurance and accreditation mechanism, SAARC Chair Fellowship Scholarship Scheme and Open & Distance Learning and SAARC – UNESCO cooperation were discussed by the Heads of UGCs / Equivalent Bodies.

The Meeting agreed upon strict deadlines and working mechanisms in order to strengthen and streamline the existing process of cooperation in the area of higher education. The Ninth Meeting of the Committee of Heads of University Grants Commissions / Equivalent Bodies will be held in Sri Lanka in April 2014.