Sharif partially agrees with Shah’s idea for enhancing budget allocation for education and health sectors, says a comprehensive draft of health insurance policy would be launched soon
Showing the desire to fulfil the federal government’s “paternal obligations to serve the commonweal” despite devolution of powers to provinces, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has partially agreed to National Assembly Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah’s proposal regarding a raise in the budget allocation for the education sector, however trashing the idea of a consensus driven Charter for Improvement of Education and Health Sectors.
Documents available with Pakistan Today revealed that the communication between the opposition leader and the premier reflected a partial consensus over the significant budget increase for education and health sectors in the coming years, stating that structural reforms were being formulated to achieve these objectives while a comprehensive draft of health insurance policy would be soon launched by the PML-N government.
In a letter sent to the prime minister on September 25, Shah had urged the prime minister to develop a consensus among all the political forces to sign Charter for Improvement of Education and Health Sectors on the pattern of Charter of Democracy (CoD), asking the government to come forward and make a serious commitment, along with other political parties, for providing free education up to secondary level and basic health facilities on “war-footings”.
RABBANI DISAGREES, PM NOT CONVINCED:
However, Shah’s colleague Raza Rabbani had criticised the move, claiming that an increase in allocations by Centre in health and education sectors would tantamount to a breach of the Constitution as both education and health had totally been devolved to provinces under the 18th Amendment.
Overruling Rabbani’s argument, the prime minister chose to agree to Shah’s arguments.
In his letter, the PM has admitted the fact that “low public spending” was being made in health and education sectors which seemed to be the “most serious deficit” in Pakistan’s development policy.
“I agree with you that though both subjects were provincial subjects but the federal government could not abdicate its paternal obligations or its obligation to serve the commonweal,” said the premier.
“As you would already be aware, I have on several occasions articulated my commitment to increase the overall allocation for education, from its current level of about two percent of the GDP to four percent by 2018, while you would also be happy to know that we have already been working on a comprehensive draft health insurance policy,” Sharif wrote to Shah.
When contacted, Shah’s spokesman Waqar Gilani confirmed that the prime minister’s letter had been received by the leader of the opposition’s office. He said that the prime minister had principally agreed to Shah’s proposal and had pledged to increase the allocation for education sector from two percent of the GDP to four percent by 2018.
