ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday mentioned that the federal government is committed to seeing education, especially greater education, flourish in the nation and would like to encourage exclusive sector to work side by facet using the public sector to invest in training and promote research and development.
Addressing the third convocation of the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technologies (SZABIST) here at the Jinnah Convention Centre, the prime minister said Pakistan have to respond positively and responsibly to the challenges with the times to arrive and it's possible only when everyone does hard work in actual sense of the word.
“I am sure that together (private and public sectors) we can contribute towards the educational, scientific and technological capacity creating of our nation,” Gilani said adding in the quick changing and aggressive globe, greater education and technology are important for a dignified survival and progress of nations.
He mentioned there is a require of total harmony in between the marketplace needs and the quality and standards of training. He mentioned government wishes to work facet by side with the exclusive sector in advertising higher education in locations of science and technology.
He said any effort made on this direction, either by public or exclusive sector, was consequently most welcome and the moral and official duty of the government was to encourage and facilitate such efforts. “Access of people to advanced know-how and skills has emerged as the single most competitive advantage on the global level,” the premier mentioned.
Gilani said, “In a knowledge-based economy, developed nations have created their place within the worldwide community about the basis of realization of importance of knowledge and they attribute their success to strategic investment in training, particularly in science and technology.”
He said it was unfortunate that education has been a grossly neglected area in Pakistan. Different educational policies had been created from time to time but never implemented.
The prime minister pointed out that claims of improvement on this vital sector were created by different governments but in fact education was in no way provided the attention which it deserved.
He said education also has a excellent role to play in moral, social and economic improvement of the society and promotion of human resources of correct type and capability. “We have so far invested in common training and there's a mismatch between what's required by the industry and what's imparted to our students.”
Gilani mentioned, “Our target would be to achieve more than 90 % literacy by 2015 and certainly, it isn't feasible for that government alone to achieve this target inside the stipulated time period.” He mentioned each and every rupee invested in higher education brings an exponential return of more than 800 % towards the national exchequer.
He said Higher Training Commission (HEC) has brought a revolutionary alter in Pakistan because its formation in 2002. It has elevated the number of universities from 98 to 132, and also tripled the university enrolment, he said, and up till 2002, only 3,000 PhD degrees were awarded whereas a lot more than three,280 have been awarded in the last eight many years alone.
Gilani mentioned the quantity of investigation publications has elevated from 815 in 2002 to more than 4,000 in 2009 and had been still growing by each year, as may be the quantity of returning PhD scholars. “At present, on HEC scholarships more than 2800 scholars are pursuing their PhD degrees abroad while an additional 3800 are pursuing it at home,” he mentioned.
The prime minister announced a grant of Rs 10 million for SZABIST Islamabad Campus and congratulated Chancellor SZABIST Dr Azra Fazal, President SZABIST Dr Izharul Haq and also the Board of Trustees of SZABIST for maintaining the highest standard of academic education with dedication.
He expressed satisfaction that SZABIST was contributing successfully towards the cause of nationwide creating with a total commitment and hoped how the new graduates will face this challenge bravely as their possible, dynamism and capability to carry out is second to none.
Gilani earlier awarded degrees to more than 200 successful graduates. Dr Javaid Laghari, the HEC chairperson, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, SZABIST chancellor, Dr Izharul Haq, SZABIST president and Syed Asad Hussain were also existing during the ceremony..
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