Ensuring quality education to masses govt’s top priority: PM

ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Monday said provision of quality education to masses is the government’s top priority, adding efforts would be made to empower people with knowledge and utilize their skills for the socio-economic development of the country. Chairing a meeting on Higher Education Commission (HEC), the Prime Minister said the government would promote higher education and establish new engineering universities to make the country self-sufficient in science and technology sector.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan is blessed with huge pool of creative people with its demographic dividend showing 100 million out of 165 million populations below the age of 25.
He said budget for education would gradually be increased to 4 percent of GNP over the next three years,while expenditure on higher education would also be enhanced to 30 percent in the same period as per international norms.
He asked the HEC to accord priority to remote areas of the country while formulating policy for higher learning and incorporate government priorities specified in the 100 days program.
The Prime Minister called upon the need for strong linkage of higher education with industry so that creative potential could be unleashed for the economic progress of the country.
He said mission of HEC is to facilitate institutions of higher learning to serve as engines of socio-economic development of Pakistan.
The Prime Minister stressed for enhancing enrollment in higher education and make it relevant to the modern world.
He urged for comprehensive presentation on education at the earliest and called upon the need for frequent holding of coordination meeting among the various departments for effective implementations of decisions to promote science and technology in the country.
The Prime Minister also instructed the concerned authorities to expedite provision of services like water, gas, electricity, sewerage lines, telephone to all those sites already allocated for establishment of new universities of engineering, science and technology in collaboration with foreign countries.
Earlier, the chairman of Higher Education Commission, Dr Atta ur Rehman in his presentation briefed the meeting about the activities of HEC for the promotion of higher education in the country.
He informed the meeting that in five years, 56 new universities were established both in public and private sector, PhD enrolment grew by 300 percent, PhD output doubled from 300 to about 600 per annum, university student enrolment increased by 130 percent and Pakistani professionals settled abroad started returning to Pakistan in large number.
The Chairman further apprised the meeting that enrolment ratio in educational institutions in Pakistan was 4 percent which need to be enhanced to 8 percent.
He informed that HEC had initiated a massive foreign scholarship programs and 1000 students were being sent abroad annually to top universities in Europe, USA and China. He told that due to change in salary structure, HEC has been able to reverse the brain drain and a good numbers of expatriate scientists have been attracted to return to Pakistan.
He also briefed the meeting about the Pakistan education and research network, digital library, virtual university and IT strategy. He also informed that a good numbers of engineering universities are being established in various parts of the country with the collaboration of foreign countries.