The Senate was informed today that under the initiatives of the government, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is developing a proposal to establish either a university or a sub-campus of an existing university in each district of the country in the next three years.
Minister of State for Education Muhammad Balighur Rehman told the House during question hour that 13 universities and higher education institutions that are offering science subjects have been established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the last ten years. He said that the HEC is also focusing on teacher training to improve the standard of education.
To a question, Balighur Rehman informed the House that HEC has taken a number of steps to control and eliminate plagiarism.
He said HEC has developed a plagiarism policy to control plagiarism in the country and circulated it to all stakeholders and universities for compliance. He said that the plagiarism complaints received at HEC are forwarded to concerned universities for investigation. He said that recently many such cases have been settled through the HEC Plagiarism Standing Committee and 34 faculty members were black listed.
To a question, Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar informed the House that International Agencies monitoring polio have appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to eliminate the disease in the country. She said main issue was non-accessibility to certain areas. She said that after the launch of operation Zarb-e-Azb, along with the Karachi operation, we have gained accessibility in areas like North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Gadap, and Karachi, and are receiving positive results of vaccinations drives.
Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada told the House that Overseas Pakistanis Foundation has established nine facilitation counters at different airports to facilitate the overseas Pakistanis.
Answering a question, the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad informed the House that work on the Hassanabdal-Havelian Expressway is in process and will be completed in two years time. He said it is being completed in two-phases at a cost of over Rs 30 billion. He said that it is a big project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and will be a gift from the Federal Government to the people of the province. He said that in addition different roads are being repaired in the province at a cost of four billion rupees.
Answering a question, Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan told the House that presently there are 134 Pakistani fishermen imprisoned in India.
He said arrest of the fishermen is a humanitarian issue and remains high on the priority list of the government. He pointed out that the issue is constantly raised with India for the release and repatriation of the fishermen. He said 68 fishermen were released by India during last year and 17 in first four months of this year.